Sunny With a Chance of Laxus
by fairyfan777
Summary: Lucy has a static electricity problem with her hair. Laxus has a shopping cart full of condoms and meat. Plue is drunk. What could go wrong? Everything! But that's why it's beautiful. LaLu
1. The Market

"Well, Lucy, things like this happen to you because your friends are all weirdos and you need to stop kidding yourself because you've become one of them."

Lucy hissed under her breath as she tried to fix her hair, but try as she might, it stood up everywhere. The static electricity was like nothing she'd ever seen before, and as she looked around her apartment at all the balloons still present from her eighteenth birthday she couldn't forget how Erza held her down while Natsu and Happy rubbed balloons all over her.

This was why she had a static electricity problem.

When she looked up in the mirror, she saw her beloved Plue, who she'd summoned earlier that morning after she woke up electrified. He was face-down in the punch-bowl from the prior night's festivities. "Plue, get out of there! It's spiked with…idiocy."

The white spirit jumped down to the ground with a "Pun-Pun!" and stumbled around a little drunk in the middle of Lucy's floor. His master just shook her head in disapproval and went back to her hair.

Even after she put it in a ponytail, her flyaways stood on end and she shook her head and headed out to the market to get some chocolate because she could feel PMS on the verge of setting in.

On the way to the market, she emitted a little shock whenever she touched anything. People, lamppost, mailbox, the rail of the bridge… _everything_. Lucy fisted her hands at her sides, grabbed a little basket with a slight jolt, and headed straight to the aisle where the chocolate was.

She threw cookies, candy bars, and all kinds of other chocolate confections in the basket, experiencing a little shock with every item she grabbed. "Goddamned balloons…" she whispered.

When she spun, she collided with a person with yet another little jolt of static. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean to shock you!"

A short but deep laugh rumbled out of Laxus' chest.

Lucy looked up and realized how incredibly stupid it was for her to apologize for shocking _him_. She laughed and shook her head. "Hey, Laxus."

"Hey."

The lightning mage had a basket in hand that had some of the staples in it: bread, condoms, cheese, milk, eggs, and meat. Wait, condoms? Lucy shook the thought out of her mind immediately, but it came back. _Condoms. Because he has sex. Laxus needs lots of condoms because he has lots of sex. Look at all those condoms in his basket._

He'd been shopping when he picked up her scent and then found himself puzzled by the fact that Lucy was surrounded by some tiny electrical field as she stood there with four pounds of chocolate in tow.

His expression softened in amusement as he commented, "No one has ever apologized for shocking me before."

The blonde sighed in resignation. "Natsu and Happy rubbed balloons on me for an hour last night. Today I woke up like this."

Then she realized! He was a lightning dragon slayer!

"…why?" Laxus asked, "would they do such a thing?"

Lucy laughed as her spirit lifted. "For the same reason they do almost anything. They're idiots," she answered, beaming brightly at her beacon of hope. "You can help me out, right?"

Laxus face melted in horror suddenly, and Lucy was confused about his sudden bewilderment. Maybe he didn't want to help? Or was unable for some reason? "Lucy."

"Y-Yes?" she stammered as his expression darkened and his aura started to press outward, threatening violence.

"Look down."

Her brown eyes slid from his face, down his muscular neck and chest, and then down further until she saw it.

The beloved Plue was quite vigorously humping Laxus' leg in a drunken state. Just as she looked upon Plue, he sped up his pace and let out a raunchy-sounding, "PUN-PUN-PUN!"

Lucy shrieked and waved a key at Plue. "GO HOME, PLUE!"

Laxus crossed his arms, letting his basket hang from the corner of his elbow. "Is _that_ a celestial spirit?"

She blushed and looked away. "Yes. That's Plue. He's a dog. Kind of."

The man who towered over her raised one eyebrow in question, "Does it have powers?"

"No. Not really," she nervously answered, "It's more of a pet. We celestial spirit mages usually keep a Plue so we don't feel lonely."

There were _so_ many inappropriate comments Laxus could make about what was happening, but he decided to be polite—for about ten seconds. And then he thought, fuck it, and smirked, "I'm sure the humping dog spirit is great company when you're lonely."

The blonde faltered under the weight of his confident, smug, but gorgeously handsome grin. "I swear he's never done that. He was drunk."

He leaned down so he was not far from her face. "There's this big orange cat that lives at my house. When I get shitfaced, I always tell her she has to stay sober for the both of us. Just some wisdom for you as a pet owner."

And somehow, this scenario was actually pretty believable to Lucy. In her mind, she imagined the famed dragon slayer sitting at a table in the dark drinking from a flask while he lectured a fluffy orange cat on sobriety.

This whole conversation was going nowhere but down, and the faster it went, the more amused Laxus was. She had inadvertently engaged his attention fully, and it was actually quite something to have his focus. His form was imposing, his tone was playful, and his gaze was piercing.

Lucy took a deep breath and cleared her mind, because she knew her position well. He was quiet for the most part, but when he chose a conversation, he was a master at a game only he knew how to play. "Can you please just help me with this static problem?"

Laxus shrugged. "Electricity attracts electricity. Meaning…it was gone the instant you bumped into me."

"You're terrible," she answered, suddenly exhausted by the whole conversation.

Laxus smiled.

For anyone who didn't know, the smile that the man had was practically _deadly_ because it was so adorable. It was a rare sight, but when it happened, it was worth just observing for the sake of having seen it.

She smiled back.

Lucy expected him to vanish as he tended to do, but he just kind of lingered in her space, which surprised him too.

The lightning wizard settled in his thoughts for a moment, having found her conversation both enjoyable and invigorating. He was glad they'd run into each other, and even though they didn't know each other as well as most others in the guild, he found her pretty cool.

Maybe her?

The king was throwing yet another ball for Fairy Tail, but this time it wasn't about the Grand Magic Games. It was a ball to honor the guild's enormous impact on the country. Considering that Fairy Tail crushed the entire Balam Alliance and the Alvarez Empire, Zeref, and Acnologia…well, as the king said it, "The least I can do is throw you a party."

Laxus, being both confident and successful with women, felt no anxiety. "Hey. I got a question for you."

"For me?"

"Be my date for that ball."

"Me?" she pointed at herself in question. "Wh-Why me? And by that way, that wasn't really a question,"

He quickly said, "Okay. Would you like to be my date? Unless you have one?"

Lucy shifted uncomfortably. "No, I was going to go stag."

His face formed a peculiar, almost unreadable expression. "And going with me is somehow _worse_?"

"N-No," she nervously and quickly replied.

Reasons not to go with Laxus? Her eyes subconsciously drifted to the COLOSSUS XXL brand condoms in his basket.

When he saw her eyes fall to his basket, he looked down because he'd honestly forgotten what was in there already. Then, he did what he felt was most appropriate and laughed and reached out to pat her on the head. "Just a date. We'll dress up, eat, dance, and then it'll be over. Maybe we'll do it again, maybe we won't. It's not that serious."

Lucy hesitated and faltered. "It's just…I've never been like….on a date. A real one, at least. I was busy, and then I was…"

Laxus was surprised by this comment. "Now is a good time then."

Then she thought about it again, as if she was trying to find a reason it wouldn't work. "What about Natsu and Gray? They're not going to like it."

"So? You're a grown woman. You can choose for yourself, and you shouldn't let anyone else look down on the decisions that you make," he tone grew more serious then as he added, "Because in the end, everyone has an opinion about what you should do, but the only person who has to live with you is you."

This rang true in her spirit. "Yes. Let's do it. I'll go with you, Laxus. The world isn't going to end over one date."

"Excellent."

Lucy suddenly felt a wave of some kind of shy/embarrassed feeling course through her veins. "Right. I should get home. I'm glad I ran into you. Let's say hello from now on."

He nodded in agreement and turned to head toward the register when she called his name.

"I have one favor." Lucy pointed to the top shelf. "Chocolate Plue. Can you reach it for me?"

Laxus sighed but easily reached up to the huge chocolate Plue. There was a comment on his tongue about her wanting the drunk humping dog in her mouth, but he refrained. He was proud of himself for doing so, but as he handed her the box, her eyes narrowed, as if she'd heard the unspoken punch line.

His eyes had a glow of delight to them, and to her that light just illuminated him right there as he stood before her.

 **Please Review!**


	2. The Ball

Lucy was looking forward to saying hello to Laxus the next day, but the Magic Council personally requested his assistance for some disaster or another—some crazy monster was raging on somewhere and evidently, they needed him.

So it was now the day of the ball, and she arrived in Crocus a ball of nerves and panic.

How many things had gone wrong?

Team Natsu, including her, came home from a job late, so when the rest of Fairy Tail made it to Crocus three days before, they were still in Hargeon. Then she had to go to Magnolia to get her outfit, which burned up on the trip because Natsu and Cobra inadvertently got on the same train and what happened could be easily predicted.

It was 2 p.m. The ball started at 7 p.m., which meant she had five hours to find a ball gown that fit, shoes and accessories, then come home, shower, and get her hair and makeup done.

Yep, she was just about ready to quit the game. Her first date ever was already pretty much ruined.

Laxus had paid for her room, which wasn't even in the same hotel as the rest of the guild, so she was by herself, and angry, and ugh...She summoned Plue and flopped down on the bed, holding him close. "What are we going to do, Plue?"

There was a knock on the door, and Lucy threw the door open and shrieked, "HOW DARE YOU COME AND JUST KNOCK ON MY DOOR LIKE EVERYTHING IS OKAY WHEN EVERYTHING IS NOT OKAY. I DONT HAVE AN OUTFIT, THANKS TO STUPID, ARROGANT, VIOLENT DRAGON SLAYERS."

Laxus withered where he stood and blinked once, twice, three times.

The door slammed in his face then, and Lucy took a deep breath, calmed herself, and prepared to face him at which point he saw in his mind a little red flag that sprouted from her skull and read 'Run, baby run!'

Lucy opened the door again, this time with measured, careful strength. "Hello. I said I'd say hello to you more, so...hi."

"Hey."

Laxus held out his offering of a garment bag and a large box with a look that was some mixture of amusement and bewilderment.

The blonde seemed blank as she took the garment bag and opened the door, allowing him entry to her room. "H-How did you know?"

The lightning dragon slayer put the box on the sofa of the suite and replied, "Pun pun."

Plue ran to him then, and Laxus bent over far enough that the tiny little spirit could fist bump the comically larger hand of the wizard.

Lucy then remembered seeing Plue playing with her communication lacrima after the incident on the train. He seemed to be in the middle of a deep conversation with all the 'Pun' he was talking, but she never imagined he was actually having a conversation with someone. "You can understand him too?"

"You can't?" he asked as he straightened back up.

"Only you and Natsu. But, I'm glad you were able to make up with Plue."

Laxus shrugged. "Plue's all right. He's just a real lousy drunk."

Lucy's tension fizzled out as she realized she now had plenty of time to get ready. "Thank you. This means a lot to me."

"I promised you a good first date, right?"

The blonde nodded. "But why aren't we in the same hotel as everyone else?"

The lightning wizard's reply was an incredulous, "Why would I want to sleep in a hotel and I know it's going to burn down?" He sensed her apprehension and added, "I'm directly across the hall if you need something. I'll be back at six-thirty. Be ready."

He left her then, and Lucy took a deep breath.

Lucy took a long bath, and then she spent the afternoon getting a mani-pedi from Virgo and an updo from Cancer, who pulled her hair up into pin curls. She avoided looking at the dress, because she was a little terrified of his taste. The first time they met, she described his outfit in her diary as 'the official douchebag uniform."

At six o'clock, she finally bit the bullet and unzipped the bag. He breath caught in her throat at what was before her. The gown was midnight blue, and had a halter top that hid any and all cleavage while leaving her arms and back bare. It was studded with golden, sparkling gems, and fit close until blossoming into a mermaid skirt. Never in her life had she even looked at a dress so gorgeous.

The shoes were strappy and midnight blue, with the same golden sparkling jewels, and there was a shawl and plain white opera gloves.

Lucy found everything fit her perfectly, which she assumed to be in some way or another, a work of Plue. Then again, maybe Laxus had just looked her over hard enough to guess her size, and that idea made her squirm a little.

Cancer swept some dark shadow and eyeliner with some light pink lip gloss and a quick blush, and she pulled on the gloves and looked in the mirror.

Her spirit spun his scissors in the air. "Gorgeous, Shrimp!"

Virgo gave her some sparkling golden earrings, and the two vanished just as there was a knock on the door.

When she opened the door, there he was and he was so gorgeous she felt like she'd melt into a puddle just standing there. He was wearing a midnight blue tuxedo with a gold bow-tie and cummerbund, so they matched in a certain kind of way. Lucy had seen him wear a suit before, but get all the way dressed up? Nope. He was so handsome as he towered over her, his hair still wild yet a little neater than normal.

Laxus swallowed hard and felt some kind of something. If it was in his heart or his groin or both, he could not say. "You're are fucking _gorgeous_."

Lucy blushed so hard he watched it spread from her cheeks to her ears. "You look really handsome too, you know. This dress is just amazing. I was a little scared when I thought about you picking. I imagined plunging necklines, but this is perfect."

The man's expression soured a little as he explained, "Casual date or not, for someone else to look at your tits when you're with me? I have a problem there. I'll level the castle."

 _But it would be okay for you to look?_ Her mind absently questioned.

He offered her his arm, and she took it carefully, blushing a little.

"You've never walked arm in arm before?" he asked in amusement.

She looked down. "I told you I've never been on a date!"

"Well, you're on a date right now."

They went down to a magic vehicle, and they sat in the back seat while the driver took them to the palace. There was a red carpet with the Fairy Tail emblem awaiting them, and upon arrival, Lucy found there were people everywhere, cameras flashing, people shouting, and she was safe in the car.

When he got out first and offered her his hand, she was tempted to stay in the car. After a few seconds, he sensed her apprehension and leaned down. "It would be a damn shame for you to hide when you look that beautiful. C'mon."

As she reached for him, she noticed that his hands were absolutely _enormous_. They were like monster hands with the palms being almost as large as her whole hand. His palm was lined with calluses, but when she closed her hand, he pulled her gently and allowed her to find her feet.

Jason, Lucy's old boss and friend from Sorcerer Weekly, practically lunged over the red rope. "Lucy! With Laxus! COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!"

"Jason!"

He got his camera. "Give me a good picture. How about a kiss! You owe me a favor, so give me an exclusive picture of you locking lips!"

Lucy shook her head. "I-I..."

Laxus decided it would be fun to play this game and grabbed her, dipped her with one arm, and cupped her face with one of his huge hands. His lips stopped just short of hers, but no one could see this behind his hand. It looked like they were kissing, but in reality, she could feel his breath against her lips. The blonde, mostly disturbed to suddenly be somewhat upside down, clenched his jacket for a few minutes, then relaxed her hand when she realized he wasn't going to drop her.

When he let her back up, she was some horribly bright shade of red, and instead of walking arm in arm, he put an arm around her shoulders and guided her in.

Once they were inside and on their way to the ball room, she shook him off. "Laxus! He's going to publish that picture!"

His brow quirked as he stole a furtive glance at the celestial mage, "What's wrong with anyone thinking you kiss me? Am I unattractive or in some way undesirable?"

 _He knows damn well he's the best looking man on the planet right now!_

Her next question was, "How do you know how to stage kiss?!"

Laxus answered, "Gramps made me go to school. I actually really excelled at drama."

Lucy laughed at this, because well... "That's ridiculous, Laxus. You have like three facial expressions and two moods. What roles did you play?"

"The villains. Always. I'm apparently good at pretending to be an asshole, probably because I'm good at actually being one. I'm not sure if that really counts as acting," he explained, "As for me, I don't have a problem with anyone thinking I put my lips on the prettiest girl at the party."

Lucy took his arm again as they prepared to entire the huge banquet hall that adjoined the ball room. "I reserve the right to slap you once this night is over for that kiss thing."

"If that'll make you happy, by all means. You never know. I might like it."

She grinned and answered through a smile, "You are really something, Laxus Dreyar."

The princess seated them at the table where she and the king were going to eat, along with Makarov, Gildarts and Cana, Erza and 'Mystogan,' and Natsu—the heaviest hitters in Fairy Tail's wars. Everyone at the table looked in confusion at what was before them.

Erza's face contorted. "Are you...his date?"

"Yes."

Natsu was blank, and he suddenly lunged, but unfortunately for Natsu, Gildarts just slammed his fist into the pink-haired boy's hair, sending him right back in place.

Gildarts held Natsu's head down. "Think with your words, Natsu."

Makarov seemed more confused than anyone, because somehow, this had remained a secret up until that very moment. "Laxus, you got a cute girl there. Please try not to fuck it up."

Laxus cringed inwardly. "Gramps, I think we've had this conversation before—maybe a thousand times. But not every woman I go out on a date with is 'my woman.'"

Natsu was released from having his face ground into the table. "Why? Why are you with him?"

Lucy took a deep breath and decided that there was only one way to placate him. Her natural response would be to stammer something a little weak, but instead, she bravely and plainly stated, "I'm with Laxus tonight because I want to be. You're my friend, so I know you and the others won't have a problem with it."

Natsu seemed shocked by this. He didn't really mind. It was just his natural state to react like this.

Laxus took a sip of wine and turned the attention to the only other legit couple. "Looks like 'Mystogan' came back."

Erza seemed momentarily frustrated. "This actually _is_ Mystogan."

Mystogan, who was wearing a tux and a black face mask, explained, "I got deposed. Apparently to run a country you have to talk to people. It was problematic. I had gotten into the habit of always hiding my face, so after a while, I started with the masks and the sneaking around. It ended badly."

What he did not mention was that he came back to his room after a quick trip to the hotel lobby and found the scarlet-haired mage wearing lingerie on his bed, and after a rather serious moral dilemma, he caved in and told her he wasn't Earthland Jellal.

So why were they together at the ball?

Because it would make Earthland Jellal jealous and teach him about not writing or making contact over long periods of time. Nothing says, 'straighten up your act' like, 'I'm going to let you wonder whether or not I'm fucking your clone from Edolas.'

Erza discussed none of this, but Mystogan actually felt quite used and a little scared that the actual Jellal would appear.

Gildarts took the conversation from there. "Laxus, you were called by the council to help with that Krimea thing, right?"

Laxus nodded. "I was told a demon was loosed from inside of a mountain but they couldn't find it. The mountain _was_ the demon. A curious mind wonders how the villagers didn't notice an extra mountain had appeared, but I digress. We crushed it before it did too much damage."

The older man pressed him further. "I heard the Council forces were almost completely wiped out and you single-handedly killed it. Was it a Zeref demon?"

The king interrupted. "A demon of Zeref? Isn't Zeref dead?!"

"Yes, but his creations remain alive," Erza explained.

Laxus looked down at Natsu and uttered, "It's convenient and inconvenient, don't you think, Natsu?"

Natsu growled so hard the entire table rumbled and Gildarts punched him in the skull again.

The princess, who was sitting beside Natsu, ran her fingers through his hair. "Aren't you worried he's going to get brain damage if you keep hitting him like that?! My God, you people are rough."

Cana reached over and took Natsu's wine. "Princess, don't worry. He'll still be exactly as stupid as he is right now when he wakes up. Sweet, fierce, and dumb as a sack of hammers. There is none like him in all of Fiore. He's a keeper for sure. Keeper of stupid."

Lucy smiled at this conversation, because the king and his daughter were enjoying being in the presence of their guild family. Yes, things were pretty messed up, but all in all, there was love in Fairy Tail. She also felt like the princess maybe had the hots for Natsu, but that led to the terrifying thought that Natsu could be King of Fiore and that was simply unacceptable.

Mystogan jumped in his seat suddenly, and Laxus let out a little chuckle because he could see the movement of Ezra's shoulder, indicating her hand had moved under the table.

And then, Laxus saw Mystogan #2, aka real Earthland Jellal, strutting across the floor. He was about to walk up on Erza fondling his other self, and God knew it was going to go downhill from there. He leaned over and whispered in Lucy's ear, "Tell Erza to stop. Jellal!"

Lucy saw it too and she leaned over and whispered in Erza's ear, but it was too late.

The king was somewhat unfazed because they'd just served the food, but he did comment, "This is getting a little weird." He asked the waiter to bring another chair, and the two Jellals sat on opposite sides of Erza, bringing a tension to the air that was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

"This is actually getting very weird," Lucy admitted.

The royal family legitimately loved Fairy Tail, and as far as Makarov could tell, the ball was a celebration as well as an indication of that favor. The Council was a little more cautious about 'investigating' and dealing with them heavy-handedly since Crocus was behind them. The affection was accepting of Fairy Tail's many quirks.

After the meal finished, they stayed a while longer, talking politics, magic, family, and all kinds of other topics. Then, when the strings section started to play, Laxus stood and offered his hand again. "Care to dance?"

Lucy happily accepted and they moved to the ballroom. "If by 'care to dance' you mean 'care to get away from this awkward table,' then I am thrilled. I don't even know what's going to happen with that situation. Two Jellals and one Erza!"

Laxus put one hand on her back and re-positioned her hand as she rested her free hand on his shoulder. "Those two have weird magic. Who knows? Either Crocus is going to be inside out and fucked in the morning or Erza is. She should take one for the kingdom."

Lucy really felt a little wrong for laughing at him, because it was so inappropriate. God, he really was a badboy. A good one, but still bad. Bad and handsome.

When he started to move, she was floored by how graceful and talented his presence was. Every foot fall was perfect and well-timed, and they moved together seamlessly. "Hey, you're good as this!"

Lucy felt small next to him, and something about the way he held her exaggerated their differences in size and strength. The more she relaxed, the more their moves began to variate until he spun her and pulled her back to him.

"Likewise."

They danced until Lucy was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and out of breath, at which point she became aware once again that they weren't the only people at the ball. She was panting, and she found herself on the sidelines drinking punch with Gray while Laxus wandered back to where Makarov was.

His grandfather looked up at him curiously. "Finished burning up the dance floor, grandson of mine?"

"I'll go back for more later," he nonchalantly answered, "Thanks for teaching me on such short notice."

"You're a Dreyar. Now make grandpappy proud and schmooze a little."

So at his grandfather's behest, he made the social rounds and met the powerful people in the country.

Lucy was making her own way around, talking with people she might not have seen since her childhood, contacts from the wizarding world, and even a few wizard allies that had come to celebrate the guild.

It didn't take him long to get bored, and Lucy was sharing a dance with Loke when Laxus reappeared.

The lion spirit warmly asked, "I suppose you're going to ask if you can cut in?"

 _I suppose you've forgotten what an asshole I actually am_ , he thought.

"Get lost."

Laxus took her back almost forcefully, but this time, his hold on her was a little different. For some reason, she noticed more the feeling of his hand on her bare back. He pressed her body against his lightly. "Let's dance."

After that, she got a little lost, but after an hour or so passed, there was a great commotion. There was yelling, and as blast of fire, and Lucy pulled out of the magic of moving with his body to find Laxus quite displeased.

Instead of trying to ward off the violence that was being threatened, Laxus went to a little cart and got a bottle of champagne and two glasses, which he gave to Lucy just as a blast of fire and a wall of water crashed into one another. "Hold these for a minute."

"B-But..." she stammered as a wave of water came toward her on an inevitable course to drench her.

He felt his arms around her for a split second, and then a dizzying pulse coursed through her body as Laxus lightning teleported at the last possible second. The first buzz brought them outside the wall, and the second and third came as he looked for a good place to come down. A hill just outside town was his final choice, and he teleported to the ground and returned to corporeal form and crashed to the ground gracelessly with Lucy, who still had the bottle and champagne glasses.

She screamed from the sheer thrill of it. "Was I inside of your body just now?"

"Kind of," he answered, realizing this was his first date where his date ended up inside of him.

It was warm and beautiful outside, and the scent of flowers was thick on the summer air as they situated themselves on the steep hill that looked over the town. It was the perfect place to view the fireworks, although it also gave them a view of the castle as a huge hole was blasted in it.

Laxus opened the bottle of champagne and look the bubbles fizz off into the grass next to him. "The party was over the second Gildarts got drunk enough to want to fight."

Lucy shook her head in resignation as he poured champagne into her glass and his. "How about a toast?" He lifted his glass to hers. "Here's to the best first date a girl has ever had,"

Their glasses clinked together and they laid there on the hill sipping champagne.

After the second glass, Laxus stretched out and put his hands behind his head. "I will never for the rest of my life forget dancing all night with Lucy Heartfilia." he commented in a tired, contented voice. "Let's just be here for a few minutes, then I need to get you back. It's almost three in the morning."

She didn't want the night to end, but it was getting late.

He teleported her back to just outside the hotel and then walked her up to the floor where they were staying.

Lucy got her key and unlocked the door, but then she hesitated. "Laxus?"

"Yes?"

"Isn't a date supposed to end in a kiss?"

His eyes widened a little. "Your first kiss?"

She nodded.

With the gentlest ease, he wrapped his arms around her, drew her close to him, and brought his lips down to hers.

Lucy's eyes slowly shut as his lips closed on hers, and she squeezed him tightly as his mouth moved with practiced ease. In this close, she took him in—his scent, his wamrth, the care with which he kissed her. Her knees buckled under her, but he held her up and kissed her again.

When he gently broke the kiss, he cupped her face and some very Laxus-like mischief sparkled in his eyes. "Goodnight."

 **Please review!**

Special thanks to all my reviewers: 1, akahime88, darkfae, guest, jenbaby2010, kassiigirl, yumeyumi1986, and Someone's bastard.


	3. The Zoo

Lucy entered the room with Jello legs and a somewhat dumb grin, giving him one last look before she closed the door. She memorized the sight of him standing there with that 'I just kissed you' smirk, lip gloss smeared on his lips. And God, if there had ever been anything so wonderful to look at, she couldn't think of what it might be.

Once the door was closed, she unzipped the dress and headed to the bathroom to shower. The scent of perspiration and her perfume were mixed with his scent, although considering how close they'd been throughout the night, it wasn't surprising his scent was left on her. She decided to leave her hair intact, and after she was clean, she put on a pair of pajamas, brushed her teeth, and flopped down on her bed.

 _So what if I just had the best night of my life with the biggest jerk in Fairy Tail?_

Lucy wanted to consider all the possible implications or what it might mean for the future, but two glasses of champagne and a night of vigorous ballroom dancing had sucked all the energy out of her and she ended up face-down in the bed snoring within three minutes.

When she awoke, it was already noon, and her stomach demanded sustenance immediately. The hotel had a buffet brunch until one o'clock, so she quickly unpinned her hair, which fell into big, pretty curls, threw on some clothes, and got ready for her day. She ran downstairs and went about the grand buffet, grabbing this and that, and then looked around for a place to sit in the large, busy dining room.

She found a small, unoccupied table and was about to sit when the hair on the back of her neck stood on end—a familiar feeling of static electricity rising around her.

 _He's here!_

The blonde scanned the dining room once, twice, and bit her bottom lip. She couldn't see him, but she could _feel_ that he was close. Laxus kicked it up a little bit, not enough to cause any real sensation, but enough that the electricity caused a strange excitement as it coursed through her.

This was a fun game for him.

Closing her eyes, she tried to sense his presence and her body turned to a curved booth in the far corner, where there was a man holding a newspaper up in front of him with _giant hands_.

Laxus lowered it as she approached and peered at her over the top. "Hey."

She laughed at his usual, monosyllabic greeting. "Hey. You...uhhhh...mind if I sit here?"

"I promise I'll make a terrible scene if you don't."

Laxus slid over and tilted his head to indicate he wanted her right next to him, and she took a seat there beside him. He folded up the newspaper and took a sip of his coffee, a plate of half-eaten eggs and various meats before him. "Did you sleep well?"

"Slept like a baby."

"I've never heard a baby snore that loud," he teased.

 _Damn dragon slayer hearing_ , she thought. "Whatever. I'm sure you have the most angelic sleeping habits."

Laxus decided to lessen her embarrassment by putting his own little personal sleeping issue on the table. "I have been told I growl in my sleep."

"That's not surprising to me for some reason," she answered.

Laxus looked at her plate, which contained egg white scramble, fruit, and a piece of wheat toast. This was what she chose from a buffet of every delicious breakfast food imaginable. Pancakes! Bacon! Cheese omelets! "It's not breakfast without bacon," he commented.

The blonde sighed and took a bite of fruit. "I'm on a diet plan my spirit Capricorn put me on."

One eyebrow rose in question. " _Why_ are you on a diet?"

She seemed a little embarrassed when she answered, "People are always telling me I weigh too much. Happy tells me that every time he has to carry me. And Capricorn. I think it might help in battle."

The lightning dragon slayer drummed his fingers on the table, seemingly annoyed by this. "This goes along with what I've said to you. You need to stop caring what people think about you, but I have both a professional and personal opinion if you would like to hear them. It would be a shame for you to live your life according to what Happy thinks."

Lucy swallowed the kiwi in her mouth and nodded, because it really did seem stupid when he phrased it like that. "Professional first."

Laxus sipped his black coffee and explained, "At your current weight, your center of gravity is between your hips, the strongest part of your body. If you were to lose, say ten pounds, it would move higher and you'd end up being less balanced. Erza's center of gravity is high like that, and if you think back, you'll see when she's in combat, her upper body—which is weaker—takes more of the force than her lower body. She has to defend with her arms and abdomen instead of her hips and thighs. It's a huge disadvantage she has to compensate for with sheer strength."

This actually made sense, and Lucy was inclined to believe Laxus over pretty much everyone else when it came to combat because he was so elite when it came to fighting.

"And personal?"

He smirked. "Those curves are perfect. That's the most polite thing I have to say about your body. I could go into more detail if you'd like."

Lucy blushed and watched as he scraped bacon and eggs onto her plate. "So, Laxus...us."

"Us," he repeated the word.

There was a long silence wherein she nibbled the bacon and they cycled through looking at one another and looking down. It was she who finally blurted out, "I like you, Laxus. I like being here, with you. And talking, with you. And dancing all night, with you. And kissing you. It felt right to me."

Lucy felt like hell had frozen over when the pink tinged his cheeks, and she wondered if she'd been too forward. Then, she realized that she'd gone out with him just because she wanted to, and it was Laxus that encouraged her to make her own decisions according to her own feelings.

 _Felt right?_

Laxus could call it the best night of his life, and it hadn't even ended in sex. "I like those things too, so let's keep doing them."

Lucy gasped a little as he put an arm around her and moved in to kiss her. "Stop, my breath smells like bacon."

 _Could this woman be any cuter?_

Laxus kissed her anyway, then said, "I like kissing you and I like bacon. It's a win-win for me."

She felt so at ease with him now, and there was a level of trust she felt for him. He liked her. He liked her body. It was okay for her to be her, and she decided he must have felt the same way. "You're kind of classy in a way, you know."

"Me? Classy?" he pointed at himself in question. "I don't think anyone has _ever_ accused me of that ever, not even by mistake."

Lucy swallowed some juice and looked up at him. "We spent all night together, and you didn't say or do anything...dirty. I danced with three people, and you were the least grabby."

Laxus tilted his head toward her and said, "There's a lot of attraction and chemistry between us. If we start touching a certain way too much or talking about certain things or looking at one another a certain kind of way...it'll happen."

"What'll happen?" Lucy asked.

"We'll end up in bed."

She blushed deeply at this comment and he sipped his coffee as she considered what he was saying. It was true that she felt a certain kind of way when he put his hands on her, and when she thought about it, he'd maintained physical contact with her through a large part of the night. She held his arm, took his hand, allowed him to swoop her down for the stage kiss, and dancing was purely physical and they'd done that for hours. When she thought about it, she hadn't felt embarrassed or annoyed or anything—it just felt right for him to touch her. And then he didn't take advantage of or press her in any kind of way that caused her to notice he had this power over her.

"I'm not ready for that. I know you probably...you know...a lot..." she was uneasy as she looked up, "...right?"

Laxus nodded. "I'll cut it out since we are going to be dating. I won't die if I don't have sex for awhile."

Her cheeks reddened even more. "But if we keep dating...then...eventually, you want to..."

"Don't think about it too much. That will also make it happen before it should."

Lucy quickly redirected her thoughts to her breakfast and they finished eating. Laxus looked over the newspaper as he ate, careful to hide the front page from her, and then something very clearly captured his attention.

"What is it? An interesting story?"

Laxus held up the paper. "The Crocus Zoo has a giraffe."

Lucy was so confused by the fact that he was interested in this because she could find no relation between lightning and giraffes. "Umm..."

"Have you ever seen a giraffe in person?" he asked.

The blonde shook her head.

"Do you want to?"

This was how she discovered one of his greatest loves in life: animals. The concept of going to the zoo stirred up an almost childlike excitement in him, and when she thought about it, the zoo was a fun place adults rarely visited. She hadn't been to a zoo since before she ran away from home, but she had memories of going with her father as a young girl.

Laxus ditched his jacket in his room so he had his black tank and purple pants, and she had on a white top and blue skirt for this, their second date.

They walked to the zoo from the hotel and once inside, they walked across a bridge that curved high over a pond that served as the alligator exhibit. He hung over the rail and watched them for a moment, then hung over a little further.

"H-Hey! Be careful! You might fall in," she warned as she tried to pull him back a little.

Instead, he pulled her up to sit on the railing with him, and she gripped the metal bars frantically. "KYAA! Laxus!"

He very seriously asked her, "What if I do fall in?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes. "What if _I_ fall in?"

"Relax. They're just alligators," he answered.

The blonde could do no more than shake her head. "Only Fairy Tail..."

At that point, an employee from the zoo approached them. "Sir, Ma'am, you can't sit...hey, it's Laxus and Lucy! You guys are on the front page of the paper!"

Lucy wanted the person—who turned out to be the manager of the zoo—to tell Laxus he had to follow the rules of the zoo, but instead, the manager gave him free reign to do _whatever_ he wanted since there was nothing in the zoo that could actually cause him harm.

And, as it turned out, a picture of her spinning into his arms adorned the front page of the Crocus Chronicle, so people steadily stared at them and pointed.

Once the manager was gone, Laxus leaned even further over the water. "They're such amazing hunters. Still and silent for hours, waiting for the moment..." And at that very moment, a bird landed on a lily pad in the water and one of the reptiles snatched it in one bite.

They moved on from there and Lucy noticed something peculiar. The animals seemed to be drawn to him naturally. "Laxus, why do they come to you? Natsu is like that too. Animals and all kinds of other creatures come to him. I wonder if it has something to do with being able to understand Plue. I don't think it's a dragon slayer thing, since Gajeel and Wendy can't talk to Plue."

Laxus, who was carelessly hanging over the protective rail at the rhinoceros exhibit, answered, "Natsu and I are on a different level. We inherit different traits as we progress. I was the first one to get motion sick."

"Why would a dragon need to be able to attract animals?"

"Food. How is a rhinoceros an animal and not a demon?" he asked.

Lucy considered the creature before her and the absurd question her boyfriend had raised concerning it. "Have you ever heard of the Rhinoceros of the Book of Zeref?"

"I heard that Zeref thought the name of the book too long so he renamed it to _E.N.D_."

Lucy couldn't help but break out into a giggle.

When they came to the lions, Laxus—of course—sat on top of the railing and watched the the lion roar in the face of the lioness. "Come sit up here with me."

"Absolutely not." She did, however, come stand next to where he was sitting. "I love lions too."

The lioness slapped the lion in the face with her paw and Laxus commented, "They are having a domestic dispute. She hit him first, but she will call the authorities if he hits her back. Speaking of which, you owe me a slap, remember?"

She rolled her eyes at him as as the lions continued their 'dispute' for a few minutes, growling and swatting at each other. A tour group moved to the exhibit, and the guide could be heard in the background uttering different facts about lions, but Laxus and Lucy remained entertained by the fight.

"Loke is a lion spirit."

"Lions are master predators and fantastic hunters. Loke acts nothing like one. He is a guy with orange hair. Nothing more, nothing less."

As if he'd been called, Loke emerged from his gate. "I beg to differ with you. I have many things in common with a real lion with my hair."

Suddenly, and without any warning, the male lion mounted the female lion and began mating with her.

"Makeup sex. Or maybe hate sex if he's going about it like _that_ ," Laxus uttered as he turned to leave the exhibit with a now embarrassed Lucy.

The female let out a loud shriek of a roar, and the tour guide could be heard saying, "...the reason the female roars while she's mounted is that the male lion's penis is covered in what are called penile spines, which rake the inside of the lioness as they mate to stimulate ovulation..."

Loke counted this as the most humiliating moment of his extremely long eternal life. Lucy and Laxus stood there, staring at him. He kept his head down, and didn't make eye contact. "I swear I don't-"

Laxus put a his hands over Lucy's ears. "Seriously?"

"Of course not!" Loke defensively answered. "Is yours covered in scales?"

"Not your concern," Laxus answered.

The lion spirit brought his palm to his face as he confessed, "Okay, look. They're small. And soft."

"KYAAAAAAA! I CAN STILL HEAR!"

Lucy threw his hands off of her and took a few steps back. A blush crawled from her cheeks to her ears, and then her chest as she stood unable to form words to express her feelings. "You two...I don't need to know about...Loke...you...and you, Laxus...both of you! Loke...go back. Laxus, I would vanish you too if I could!"

Loke disappeared and Lucy started to stomp away from Laxus.

He followed her and came to her side. "Lucy."

"Don't 'Lucy' me, Mister!"

Laxus saw the blush continuing to spread. "Why does it bother you? You got a thing for Loke?"

"That's not the issue," she hissed.

"Then what is the issue?"

She stopped and fisted her hands as she looked up at him, and then away from him. There was a question in her eyes, and when he saw it, and he comprehended the cause of her debilitating bewilderment, he laughed.

The blonde made good on the slap she owed him. "Stop laughing! You don't even understand!"

Laxus smugly looked down at her. "You're wondering about the question he asked me. And now you're curious, but you're terrified to ask. Ah, the quandaries of a virgin at the zoo."

He hit the bulls-eye and she only became more frustrated with him.

She was paralyzed by embarrassment, so he asked, "Do you want to know?"

"OF COURSE NOT!"

 _But I do_.

"I really just don't."

 _But I'm going to wonder about it._

The lightning mage gave her a pat on the head. "Good girl. Let's get some ice cream and stop talking about dicks."

"You have a way with words, you know," she sarcastically answered.

They sat at a bench with their ice cream and Lucy noticed that the sky was already started to turn orange, indicating the day was pretty much over. Somehow, she felt like time went by in fast motion when they were together, and she'd never felt that way before.

Despite all that had happened at the infamous lion exhibit, she was comfortable with him, and she could tell he was comfortable with her too. His love for animals was some detail of him she knew most people never saw, so to be with him meant that he was sharing some part of himself with her that usually stayed hidden.

In all things, Laxus was still Laxus: a jerk, inclined toward danger yet unbothered by it, a little vulgar, brutish, playful, but attracted almost helplessly to the way she engaged him in conversation.

And he noted that Lucy was still Lucy: kind, a little awkward, overly dramatic, prone to fits, laughing at jokes so inappropriate she would never make them, and magnetized to the challenge his presence brought her.

She looked up from her ice cream to find him watching her. "Remember when Phantom  
Lord attacked and you said you'd only help if I became your girlfriend?"

There was a flash of shame in his eyes. "Yeah..."

"Have you been attracted to me since then?"

Laxus kind of suspected this would come up eventually. "I was more of an asshole then, but I wasn't blind. You've always been very attractive."

He chomped down on the last of his ice cream cone and said, "If another guild tried to kidnap you now? God have mercy on them, because I will not, and He's the next one they'll see after me."

Lucy had no doubts about this.

They continued their exploration of the zoo and arrived at the giraffes, which predictably gravitated toward Laxus. As they approached, the two hung their heads over and Laxus reached into his pocket for a camera lacrima.

"Selfie with a giraffe?" he asked.

Lucy nodded. "It's somehow one of the least crazy things that's happened today."

She stood next to him and he was next to one of the giraffes and he put his arm around her and pulled her close, kissing her on the cheek when he hit the button. At that moment, the giraffe licked his face, which made the picture actually quite funny. Laxus kissing Lucy, while getting a kiss from as giraffe.

This was their first picture together.

After they left the zoo, it was just about dark, and instead of going back to the hotel, Laxus bought them food at a little stand and they ate it as they headed toward downtown.

They saw Elfman and Evergreen together, hand-in-hand.

"They're really together?"

Laxus looked down at her. "Of course. They've been together since before Tenrou. I almost had to kill him about a month ago."

"Why?"

"He cooked for Evergreen and she got sick."

Lucy was puzzled. "Why would you kill him for that?"

The lightning wizard explained, "The nausea caused Evergreen to think she might be pregnant. She didn't want to tell him, so she showed up at my house crying. I went to go buy a pregnancy test because I didn't know what to do, and while I was at the store, I ran into Gramps. You can't imagine how awkward of a conversation we had. Once everything was straight, I went out and found Elfman. Then I buried him in a crater."

The blonde could see it playing out in her head, and it was just as comically horrible as a story as it probably was in progress. Those was also one of those things that could only happen at Fairy Tail.

They walked down the river walk, and all through downtown, looking at and doing various little activities. The couple sampled different kinds of food, and then they came to a boat ride.

"Can we?" she asked.

Laxus scowled at her. "That's _transportation_ ," he stated, emphasizing the second word as if it was poison. 'Transportation' was practically a curse word at Fairy Tail.

"Oh! Right. Sorry."

Lucy was turning away from the boat ride when her foot caught on a loose brick in the cobblestone walkway next to the river. She yelped, and then stumbled forward and sideways.

He _tried_ to catch her, but the next thing Lucy knew, they were both in the river, which was flowing a little faster than normal due to runoff from the mountains.

Laxus swam to her and held her against him.

"I can swim," she said as she choked out the small amount of water she swallowed and pushed away from them.

His eyes were so narrowed in annoyance they were hardly open. "...Yet you can't walk?"

Once she tried to swim on her own, she yelped in pain and sank, at which point he pulled her back to him. "My ankle!"

He swam against the strong current to the edge and pulled both of them out.

Lucy coughed a little more and felt him take her right foot in his hand.

Laxus took her white sneaker off and the sock, and felt the foot and ankle, which had already started to swell. The blonde winced as he palpated the injury, rotating her foot and moving her toes. From his vantage point, he got a little distracted when he lifted her leg because he could see her white panties, but he quickly refocused his attention on the injury."It's sprained. I wonder if Wendy went back earlier."

"She left at noon with Erza and a few other people," she answered.

Laxus pulled his shirt over his head and tore it into long strips, which he tied around her ankle with practiced ease. "Grab my neck, we need to get back."

Lucy did so and found herself piggyback on the bare-chested dragon slayer's back. "Can't you teleport us?"

"You know about lightning and water, right?" he asked.

She sighed as she held onto his neck. "I didn't think of that."

Laxus felt her hovering next to his left ear and his eyes cut to that side when she kissed him on the cheek. His heart flip-flopped in his chest, and in that moment, he knew.

He was falling in love. He was already too far gone to stop it, and he really didn't want to.

When they got back to the hotel, Lucy's spirit Virgo came to tend to her master, collecting her clothes so she could shower and change. Laxus went to his own room to shower and wash the river off of himself, and returned with a bucket full of ice just as Lucy emerged from the shower in her pajamas.

Laxus tied up some ice in a towel and sat next to her on the sofa, pulling the ankle into his lap as she turned to face him. He re-wrapped it in bandages he kept packed due to the disastrous nature of his job. "Does it hurt?"

"Y-Yeah..." she hissed as the ice made contact with the swelling ankle.

"How about a distraction to take your mind off your ankle?" he asked, raising a brow in question.

Lucy nodded.

He shifted closer to her and cupped her face kissing her gently on the lips. The kiss was soft, sweet, and seemed to last forever, but when he broke it, she turned her body to face him completely, forgetting about the wounded ankle currently draped around his hip.

The next kiss came with a little spark, and before she knew it, she was sinking into the sofa on her back, his body above her. Their bodies moved to find the perfect position, and the Lucy almost subconsciously opened her mouth when he kissed her again.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized she was making out with Laxus Dreyar.

She suddenly felt his tongue barely brush against hers, and she felt like she'd been struck by lightning. Whether it was a natural response to his touch or not she wasn't sure, but the spark coursed through her so hard her entire body shuddered.

Instinctively, her body knew how to move and she didn't stop her hands from running through his damp hair or down his back. She felt completely lost, but like she had no desire to be found. It was like time had stopped, and there was just her and Laxus and it was so amazing. "Laxus..." she moaned.

He made a noise that was something like a growl and a purr combined and broke the kiss. Panting, he pressed his forehead against hers. "Does your ankle still hurt?"

She reached up and touched his cheek. "No. Can we stay like this a while?"

Laxus kissed her forehead. "You have your legs wrapped around me. There's no staying like this. We can either sit up and behave or I'm going to throw you on that bed and have you and you're not ready for that."

Lucy really hadn't realized that they had moved into that position, so she didn't protest when he sat up and reclaimed her ankle, putting the ice pack back on it. "My body kind of moved on its own. Sorry."

She moved her foot and accidentally kicked the painfully tight bulge in his pants with her heel.

He winced and removed her foot from his lap, bending over in pain.

"Laxus! What happened? Are you injured?"

With a groan, he said, "You kicked me in the erection."

"E-E..." she couldn't even say the word. "Why did you have one?!"

He said, "I was just on top of you for an hour."

"That long! It felt like...five minutes!"

When she looked up at the clock, she saw an hour actually had passed.

It was then that she realized that her sense of time was completely screwed up when she was with him. Laxus was keenly aware of what was going on around them at all times, but she was generally unaware. Being with him was like being pulled into a vortex in which nothing else existed existed except bacon and giraffes and tongue-kissing.

"S-Sorry. Will it be okay?" she mumbled.

And that was how they arrived at that moment, where the virgin Lucy Heartfilia was asking him if his penis was going to be okay after causing it to become erect and then smashing it with her foot.

 _Only Fairy Tail_ , he thought.

All things considered, he felt like he'd been quite the gentleman.

Until now.

"Want to kiss it and make it better?" he asked with an absolutely devilish smirk.

The blonde turned fifteen shades of red and broke eye contact. "Gross, Laxus. I'll kick it again if you want."

Laxus made one more attempt at caring for her ankle, and as he held the ice on it, he seemed pensive. Like he suddenly had a thought and it was important.

"What?"

Hey boyfriend met her eyes. "Get on birth control, okay?"

Lucy was going to ask why, but that was a stupid question for a girl who just had him laying between her legs. If she was honest with herself, she really wanted to go a little further and in that moment, if he'd asked to have it all, she might have let him. On some level, she found it hilarious that he'd warned her at breakfast about touching too much and then ended up on top of her the same day, but that showed where his level of self-control was and highlighted why she probably needed to take his advice.

"Okay."

She ended up sleeping in the bed an he slept on that sofa because he refused to leave her in the room alone when she was injured, even if she could call on her spirits and some of them could simply come if she was in trouble.

He kissed her goodnight, and she dreamed of lightning.

 _ **Please Review!**_

Special thanks to yumeyumi1986, sdjr100, guest, boboboing, darkfae7, and DoesAnyoneWantaCookie for reviewing!


	4. The Orange Cat

After they got back to Magnolia, Laxus went on a job with his team, and when he came back, Lucy was on a job, so he stuck around for a few days before being called back by the Council for another 'disaster.'

For six weeks, they kept missing one another.

So when Lucy came in late with her team, Makarov welcomed them back and then said, "For the love of God, please go by Laxus' house and let him see your face. I can't stand him like that anymore."

The blonde wanted to see him just as badly. God, she'd missed him. They'd had the most magical time in Crocus, and then life had pulled them apart, although she knew it might be better. She and Laxus had gotten a little too hot a little too early, but who even knew what was going to happen when they saw each other after so long.

"Where does Laxus live?"

Natsu said, "Laxus lives next door to me. You can walk with us!"

Lucy blanked out for a moment. "You...and Laxus...are _neighbors_."

"Not just Laxus. Bixlow and Freed live there too!" Happy exclaimed.

Lucy blinked in confusion. "How does that work? How have you not burned his house down?"

She watched his eyebrow twitch at a memory as he explained, "It happened once. When Laxus got done with me, I'd been hit so many times by lightning my fingernails turned black and feel off. There are runes around his yard now."

Happy's eyes watered in sheer terror. "Don't make me remember, Natsu! I was so fluffy and twitchy! I didn't do it, I'm just a cat!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You and Natsu have shared guilt in everything. Anyway, I'm going home to shower and change. I think I know the way, but thanks."

After she got back to her house, she found the window unlocked and a little pink summer dress hanging on a hook by the door. There was a little heart drawn on the tag, and Lucy grinned. _Did I score a guy that likes to buy me clothes? And actually has good taste?_

"Jackpot," she whispered as she undressed and got into the shower.

A little eyeshadow, a little lip gloss, a little perfume...

Lucy took a nice little stroll down Broom St., then turned down a familiar path. When she passed Natsu and Happy, she could see the lights on in the house and she smiled. There wasn't anything in the world she'd trade her team for.

A little wooded patch separated Laxus-land from Natsu-land, and there was a tall iron fence around the perimeter of where her boyfriend lived with two of his teammates. The yard was well-kept, and there was a stone path that led to the front door.

Lucy followed the path and rang the doorbell, feeling a little apprehensive. She was a little nervous about showing up like this, without Laxus knowing, without being invited, and at his house no less.

The person who opened the door was Freed, who had on an apron. The scent of pot roast hit her like a wave, and he very nearly burst into tears upon seeing her. "Lucy! Welcome! Come in," he said as he gestured for her to enter this, the father of all Man Caves. "Laxus is in the shower, but he'll be down in a minute."

The house was actually pretty big and judging from the open layout, she assumed many a party had been had there.

Bixlow was laid out in the middle of the floor without his helmet reading a book with his head resting on what she initially mistook for a large stuffed animal. But when she came closer to greet Bixlow, she stepped on the tail of this enormous stuffed animal, and a lot of things happened at one time.

As Lucy screamed at the absolute top of her lungs, a claw intentionally missed her and a roar reverberated through the house. On her second scream, she realized she didn't know why she hadn't seen it coming.

Laxus appeared at the top of the stairs when he heard the scream, dripping wet and barely covering himself with a towel.

The blonde pointed her finger and shouted, "LAXUS DREYAR WHY IS THERE A TIGER IN YOUR HOUSE?!"

The room became dead silent for a moment.

Freed was holding a spoon in mid-air that he had been stirring the gravy with. Bixlow was frozen in place with his 'book,' which was actually a magazine full of naked women. Laxus stood at the top of the stairs, dripping with with his mouth agape, Lucy stood glaring at him, and the tiger yawned and laid back down on the floor.

Laxus finally said...

"Hey."

Realizing the tiger was actually not going to hurt her, she took a deep breath and willed herself to calm down. "You have...a pet tiger."

His eyes narrowed. "I think I told you."

Lucy pointed at him. "You said you had a big orange cat."

"Which part of that is false?" he asked.

She huffed, and he smirked. "Get up here, Lucy. I have a bone to pick with you."

Bixlow's dolls levitated and chanted, "He has a bone! He has a bone!"

Laxus zapped them out of the air with his lightning, and made a 'come hither' motion with one finger.

"I'm not coming up those stairs until you put your clothes on."

He sighed and realized maybe starting their reunion nearly naked was a bad idea. "Fine."

When he disappeared to dress, Freed and Bixlow resumed their prior activities.

Lucy sat down on the sofa and stared at the tiger, who was pretty happy to be Bixlow's personal pillow. "How did you guys end up with a tiger?"

Freed looked up from the stove. "On our first mission as a team, we were supposed to catch some poachers. When we caught up to them, they had skinned Raijin's mother and she was a tiny baby. None of the other cubs lived. But we didn't want her to die even though she was really sick. Laxus especially, he has a thing for animals. But bottle-feeding her was hard work, so we all moved in together. It was like tasking care of a real baby. Evergreen helped too, but Master wouldn't let her stay here with us. We have been a team since then. Raijin is very weak because she was a sick baby so it's good for her to be here rather than the wild or a zoo."

The green-haired mage pointed to a photograph on the wall of a teenage Laxus cradling the baby tiger as it drank from a bottle. It was more cute than Lucy was angry.

"What happened when you were on Tenrou Island?"

Bixlow answered, "She stayed with Macao and Romeo."

She knelt down and cautiously reached out to scratch the tiger.

Laxus came down the stairs in a pair of black pants and a green tank top. "You got over it already? So I have a pet tiger. You don't give Natsu shit over Happy."

Lucy gave him a look of distinct disapproval. "Don't compare Happy to an eight hundred pound tiger. Happy probably won't ever eat a person."

"Raijin will never tell you that you need to lose weight," he casually argued.

Freed and Bixlow watched in fascination at this exchange. Laxus had practically been pining for this girl, and here she was, in their house, and they were steady standing there pissing each other off.

Laxus looked extremely agitated as the conversation went on and he abruptly grabbed her by the hand and dragged her to his room. As soon as the door was shut, he pinned her against it. They practically clawed at each other when his lips crashed against hers. After that long, even an inch of space between them seemed like far too much.

"Don't you ever...leave me that long..." he warned.

He chuckled a little roughly against the kiss and let his hands wander down to the curvature of her derriere. With one smooth motion, he lifted her up and on instinct, she wrapped her legs around his waist. "You better be careful. You get me any more riled up and I swear to Mavis I will pound you into oblivion."

Lucy put her hands on his shoulders as he held her there. "What if we go a little bit further, but not too much?"

"How far?" he curiously asked.

She rested her her forehead against his, "Let's see...how about...underwear?"

Laxus reached across her and locked his door. "I'll play, but we have to stay off the bed, you have to keep your legs closed, and no touching anything that's still covered. If you break any of the rules...oblivion."

"What do you mean I have to keep my..." Lucy stopped dead in the middle of her sentence when she realized she once again had her legs wide open and wrapped around him.

He let her down and she took a look around his room. There was a big window with a chair in front of it and an ottoman near some bookcases. Then closer to the door was the bed and a writing desk. The furniture was black wood, and the only really colorful pop in the room was his red comforter.

His bed looked so soft, but the rules...

He let her control what was going on, because this was her exploration of her own sexuality as well as her first encounter with male sexuality. At five years her senior, he knew better than to get her swept up and lost in a moment and then have her like that. Laxus wanted her sassy and confident; he could never take that from her.

"Sit," she finally said, pointing to the chair near the window.

With a grin, he did as he was told and she sat sideways on his lap. They embraced and started kissing, during which Lucy knew she was falling back into the void where time seemed to stand still. The kiss deepened and on this occasion, she initiated the action with her tongue, causing him to smile against the kiss.

The smirk vanished when he felt her little fingers slide under the hem of his tank and pull upward. Laxus put his arms up as she pulled the shirt over his head, exposing his bare chest. Her fingertips ghosted over the outline of his guild mark and tattoos, and then explored him curiously.

When she stood up from his lap, she met his eyes. "Do you want to undress me, Laxus?"

"Fuck," he growled under his breath, "only ask me that if you want me to tear that dress to pieces."

The blonde realized she'd hit some kind of nerve with him and decided to tease him a little. "Please, Laxus? Unless...do you want me to strip for you, Laxus?"

The sound that he emitted almost sounded like a whine. "Lucy..."

"Ask me nicely," she teased.

Laxus gritted his teeth and shifted to get a little more comfortable. "Strip for me, Lucy."

"Say please..."

"No." He lightning dragon slayer moved so fast the next thing Lucy knew, her brand new dress was falling to the floor in small pieces and she stood there in her matching peach-colored lace bra and panty set.

He grabbed her by the hips, his hands making contact with her bare skin. His eyes wandered over her, from the curve of her neck down to her perky breasts, creamy skin, and the curve of her hips and butt.

Lucy blushed a little under his stare, but not because she was embarrassed. From the beginning, he'd made it clear that he found her body wonderful, and he looked upon it as if nothing else in the whole world existed.

"Look at me," he commanded in a deep, quiet voice. When she looked up, he pulled her body flush against his and whispered. "You are so beautiful and you are fucking mine, you got that, little girl?"

Lucy grabbed his belt suddenly and unfastened it. "Who is a little girl?"

A dark little laugh erupted from him as she pulled the belt and tossed it aside.

The blonde swallowed hard and popped the button loose on the pants, then pulled the zipper down. She swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and pulled down only to have some imbalance of a catastrophe where she fell as she pulled the pants down and kind of go hit in the middle of the forehead with the tent of his boxers.

She ended up on her knees on the floor looking a little blank. "Clumsy...Did that just happen?"

He burst out laughing and pulled her to her feet. "Come here, little girl. You're not ready to be on your knees."

He claimed her in a kiss and felt her hands exploring his back and sides. Laxus sat back in the chair and she sat across his lap, snuggling into his bare embrace as they kissed.

Lucy felt like they kissed forever, and the makeout session reached a climax where they either had to take the rest of their clothes off or calm down, so the kisses slowed and then she pulled away and rested her head on his shoulder.

"So you don't like being teased."

Laxus combed his fingers through her hair. "I enjoy it, but I won't tolerate it long."

She cupped his face affectionately and nestled her head under his. "Did you think about this while I was gone."

"All the time."

She felt a little relieved. "I think we're falling in love, Laxus."

"You just noticed?"

Freed yelled something about dinner, and Laxus said, "We might as well. We can have half-naked snuggles after. Let's get dressed."

Lucy shook her head. "...says the guy who destroyed my clothes."

"Oops."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to Darkfae7, Tiernank, chelsannful, westerngoddess, auotre, arouraleona, HiiragiLaura, guest, and mwolfe13 for reviewing!**_


	5. The Apartment

At three months, the relationship became the longest Laxus had ever had. Strangely enough, it was the only one that hadn't involved sex, which made him wonder at times if all the people who told him to get to know a girl first were actually right.

It was precisely three months after the ball that Laxus was limping along the street in Magnolia at three in the morning, thinking about how three months before, he'd been laid out on the hill sipping champagne with the woman who had been the biggest surprise of his life.

Bandages were wrapped around most of his body and his skull, and he stopped at an intersection. He hadn't been injured so badly since the final battle of what was being called The Great Fairy War, the chaos that destroyed an empire, the world's greatest dark wizard, and the 'king of the dragons.'

God, they'd all been so bloody in the end...

Pain wracked his body as he took fifteen more steps and used the last of his energy to leap from the sidewalk to a window ledge. He'd never broken in before, but he didn't want to bother her. He just wanted to see her face—God, he'd missed her.

Lucy sensed him and opened her eyes to find him beaten to hell in her windowsill.

He braced himself, waiting for the high-pitched, loud outburst, but her eyes had nothing but love and concern. "Hey..."

"Laxus, you already broke in. You might as well come all the way in."

When he jumped down from the window, he crumbled on the ground and winced. "Shit..."

"What happened to you?! Who did this to you?!"

The dragon slayer sat up on the edge of her bed and teased, "Why, do you plan on avenging me?"

The blond scowled at him. "I was feeling like being nice, but now that I know you have enough energy to be a jerk, I know YOU HAVE ENERGY TO GET OUT OF MY APARTMENT, YOU CREEPY BEDROOM INTRUDER!"

He laughed, and immediately thereafter threw up blood on her carpet and nearly fainted. "S-Sorry...I'll go..."

Lucy threw her arms around him, which was as welcome as it was painful. "Laxus, you're really banged up this time. You don't need to go anywhere. You're going to stay here with me."

"Trust me to spend the night?" he asked.

"You're hardly up for _that,_ " she answered with a roll of her eyes as she started to undress him. First she took off his coat, then his boots and socks, then his shirt.

There was a brief flash of mischief in his eyes. "I could be 'up' if I had to. If you said you needed it and couldn't wait another moment."

Lucy roughly tugged at his pants in a way she knew aggravated his abdominal injuries a little. "...but I didn't, did I?" she asked as she pulled them off and scowled at a deep cut on his calf.

"Or I could just let you be on top."

The blonde dismissed him. "I'm developing an immunity to how childish you are, have you noticed that?"

"I did. You have learned the pattern of your enemy and adapted accordingly. It's impressive," he answered. "I am adapting too. I'll just find new ways to get under your skin."

"Lay back now and stop talking until I'm done," she said after she gathered her first aid supplies.

Laxus smirked. "I'll be saying that to you pretty soon."

Lucy sighed. "I still can't figure out why I miss you."

The blonde scrubbed and put clean bandages on every bloody wound on his body. She was lending him strength, not pity. She understood the bandages now led to victories tomorrow. She understood _him_ , and this that she was doing? It was the practice of being _his_.

"You don't have to handle me so gently," he sarcastically commented, "but you do."

"You don't have to crawl through my window half dead at three in the morning," she answered in a voice that sounded sweet but actually was not at all, "but you do."

Wearing nothing but bandages and boxers, he watched her turn out the light as she crawled back into the bed with him in her blue pajamas.

Laxus ran his bandaged fingers through her hair but quickly went to sleep.

When he woke up, it was raining hard outside and Lucy was in the living room reading a book. There was a stack of clothes there, undoubtedly from one of his teammates.

Lucy gave him a quick kiss, but she noticed that he was extremely quiet as he moved about. He showered, and he seemed lost in thought when she was re-dressing his wounds, which had improved quite a lot overnight. It was pretty easy to see something was on his mind, but she didn't press it. Laxus wasn't afraid to say what he thought, so if he held his words, there was usually a good reason.

She made him a sandwich, which he ate, and then he looked around the apartment for awhile almost like he was avoiding her.

Then Laxus saw the Castille game on the floor and asked, "You play?"

Lucy looked at the little table with different colored and shaped pieces. "Natsu and I play all the time. I always beat him."

"Defeating Natsu in a battle of wits is not necessarily noteworthy." Laxus sat on the floor with a wince. "You ready for a real opponent, little girl?"

She took her place with a confident smile. "When I beat you, you can't blame your silly little injuries."

"I'm glad being impaled and being stabbed in the liver are now 'silly little injuries.' I was worried for a minute there," he commented.

While they were playing, Laxus said, "Let's talk about the future."

Lucy looked up at him in question as she moved her piece. "What do you mean?"

"How long do you want to do this? Be with me, I mean," he asked as he moved a piece.

She licked her lips and felt a little nervous, but she made a masterful move before answering, "I don't really want to think about us not being together anymore. That's my resolve, and I plan on sticking to it with everything I have. Unless you want to go."

Laxus nodded. "You are mine. I don't plan on giving you up, or letting you go for any other reason than you want to. Yesterday, I was laid out in this field bleeding, I started to think if I died, you'd probably cry about it, but then you'd move on and another man would have you. A certain face came to mind, and I got so mad I beat the bastard that banged me up like rented mule."

Lucy wasn't sure what to comment on first, so she attacked the entire thought. "First of all, I'm not going to go anywhere. Second, if you died, who could come after you? Have you ever really considered how ruined I am? I wouldn't even know what to do with another guy. Third—and most importantly—whose face? Did you really try to predict who I'd end up with if you died?"

The dragon slayer captured one of her pieces. "You've never had the thought? What happens if this ends? What do you think will happen to me if something happened to you?"

Truthfully, she had. "I think that this may be a once-in-a-lifetime thing for you, Laxus. I think you would never trust another woman."

"Sounds about right," he admitted.

"But who did you think I'd end up with?"

"Let it go already."

The blonde captured his most powerful piece. "Tell me!"

"Gray."

Her face melted. "Gray...Fullbuster? Gray. Gray?"

Laxus knocked one of her captured pieces across the room as a spike of jealousy hit him. "He already broods. He's more mature than anyone else in your team, so he would try to be supportive, but you both have painful pasts. You sit around moping one night about the pain and he reaches to hold you...I got so pissed while I was laying there bleeding I got up and practically ripped that guy to pieces. He was so confused. I don't really remember it all, but he kept saying, 'but I'm not a stripper' while I was hitting him."

Lucy stared at him blankly and then burst out laughing. "You're so ridiculous, Laxus!" She practically rolled on her side giggling. "You decided not to die...to keep me from Gray...I'm sorry but that's so stupid I can't..."

It took five minutes for her to calm down while he scowled in irritation, but once she recovered, she toppled his main piece. "By the way, I win."

While they were resetting the board, he asked, "So back to us. What do you want out of life? You want to move in eventually?"

"Eventually..." she said.

"Get married?"

Lucy nodded. "Is that a problem?"

Laxus shook his head once. "It might take me a long time to get there. You're okay with that?"

"Of course. As long as we're together and we're happy, I don't think it matters how long it takes," she gently answered. "I'm good with talking about these things, but I don't think we should put a time table on anything or make any plans. We went out because we wanted to. Let's move in when we want to. Let's get married when we want to."

Laxus sat there with his legs crossed for a while, seeming oddly boyish and vulnerable to her. "Lucy..."

When she saw how apprehensive he was about whatever he had to say, she said, "We had to talk about this stuff eventually. Three months is a long time, but it's different for us. We do everything to the extreme with our feelings. Because as wizards, our feelings give us power. So for me to love you like this...makes me powerful."

His countenance eased a little. "Do you want to be a mother someday?"

The depth of this question hit her in the face like fifteen tons of bricks. "What do you mean?" she dumbly asked, unable to connect the dots on such short notice.

This was cute to him, but it was a subject that was sticky for him too, which is why he'd been so nervous about asking. "Do you want have babies, Lucy?"

Somehow, the way she responded—without even thinking—was, "...yours?"

Laxus narrowed his eyes. "I would hope so."

Her eyes snapped away from him and she shifted uncomfortably. "Y-Yeah. Not any time soon. Just someday. Do you?"

He nodded once as his mouth twitched into a little smile. "In a few years. I am so serious about the birth control thing. I'm a second generation oops. I've been trying really hard not to fuck it up, and so far so good."

Lucy decided that since they were on delicate subjects, she would also address one that had been on her heart. "On your birthday in a couple of weeks...I want us to come together finally."

Laxus met her eyes. "You're ready?"

"I'm ready."

 **Please Review!**

Special thanks to Darkfae7, Guest, RainbowShift, yumeyumi1986, aoutre, jozaanimelover,MWolfe13, and ArouraLeona for reviewing!

AN: This story kind of has a life of its own at this point. I'm having a blast with it.


	6. The Night

**AN: Please note the rating change.**

Lucy sighed and closed her eyes as she masseuse did her marvelous work.

One of the benefits of dating Laxus Dreyar is that he knew how to treat a girl. Well, in some ways. He bought her cute clothes and occasionally jewelry, and for the third time in six months, sent her to the spa for a day with Wendy. Then again, he was S-Class, so he might make enough money on one three-day mission to pay rent for the whole year.

This was the day before his birthday, which meant that the next night was _the night_.

Her heart pounded in her chest when she thought about it, but she was also so excited.

Wendy, who was in an equal state of bliss, smiled. "I want a boyfriend like Laxus someday."

The blonde snorted. "Be careful what you wish for!"

The girl sighed deeply. "You're spoiled, Lucy. He's always doing nice things for you!"

The elder considered it and smiled, "That's only because he's also a jerk. It's like balance."

At Lucy's apartment, Nastu had entered through the window in search of his teammate and upon not finding her, decided to look for a clue about why she'd been a little distant for the past few days. Really, Lucy had only been lost in her own thoughts and excitement as she prepared for the next stage of life and they hadn't had any jobs to go on anyway.

Her apartment smelled like Laxus, which he wasn't a fan of, but he assumed Laxus probably didn't appreciate that it reeked of him in there either. He was honestly just happy the elder dragon slayer had yet to complain about his sleepovers.

Natsu found a pink box on her bed and took the lid off to examine the contents. "A clue?"

The dragon slayer held up the red ball of lace and looked at it from a number of angles before he determined he had no clue as to what it was. It was stretchy, and stringy, and bright red.

Laxus entered the same way that Natsu had and was standing in the windowsill when he saw the younger man in this state of confusion.

Natsu put the garment on his head and looked around.

He brought a palm to his face and sighed deeply. "Dammit, Natsu. What in the hell..."

Natsu took it off and pulled on it with his hands. "Oy, what the hell is right! What is this thing?"

"It's a g-string, you idiot," he jumped down and realized that Lucy had not yet made it home and that the person to discover his gift was none other than Natsu Dragneel.

The pink-haired man stretched it again, and gazed upon it curiously. "G-string...sounds like an attack. Is it magical?"

 _So, so magical._ Laxus thought as he snatched the panties out of Natsu's hand and slapped him on the back of the skull so hard he hit the floor face-first. "Behold, the genius that crushed the Balam Alliance..."

Natsu sat up and asked, "But what is it?!"

Laxus held them up. "Panties."

"...that's underwear for girls? If that's supposed to be for Lucy, I don't think that would fit. Her butt is a lot bigger than that thing is."

"I give up," the elder quickly said with a shake of his head.

Natsu jumped up and exclaimed, "Fight me, Laxus!"

Laxus put the g-string back in the box. "Think really hard about what she'll do if she comes home to a pile of rubble. You'll get Lucy-Kicked in the ass so hard you cough up her shoe."

After giving this situation three seconds of consideration, he gave up his momentary ambition. "How about a game of Castille! I can't beat Lucy, but I can be you for sure!"

"Whatever. I got nothin' better to do while I wait."

The two men set the board and Laxus learned about ten seconds into the game that despite mistaking a pair of women's panties for a magical weapon, Natsu was actually pretty swift. It was surprising, and he furrowed a brow in frustration.

Natsu looked up at him as he considered his next move. "How do I get a girl to be my girlfriend?"

Laxus looked up at him with an expression that so very clearly said, _Fuck my life_.

The awkwardness of this moment made Laxus wish he could throw the board at Natsu's face, but out of respect for Lucy, he refrained. "Ask."

"Ask..." Natsu repeated as if it was a foreign word. "Like how?"

"Whatever you want, just ask."

"What if she says no?"

Laxus watched him move him into a corner and cursed inwardly. He felt like the idiot inside of Natsu was running the mouth and the genius was running the game. There was a surreal contrast between the two. "Who are we talking about?"

Natsu looked away. "Nunya."

 _Childish. So, so childish._

"Does 'Nunya' also respond to the name Lisanna?"

"Maybe." Natsu huffed as he toppled the last piece. "Cake. Let's play again. Maybe I'll go easy on you."

The elder blinked in disbelief. Laxus wondered if something had gone wonky when Zeref resurrected Natsu from the dead and left him with some kind of brain damage. "How can you be that brilliant but stay an oblivious blockhead at the same time? I will never understand."

Natsu reset the pieces, a strange glint flickering in his eyes as his mental strategic cycle started anew. "I keep going places with her and stuff and she doesn't get it. I don't want to be her big brother. Maybe I should give her some underwear. Lucy is happy when you get her stuff."

Laxus shook his head and decided to let it unfold as fate had set into motion because Lisanna was possibly the only person in the entire world who could deal with Natsu's antics. "She'll definitely get the message."

"Good."

Five games in a row, Natsu wiped the floor with Laxus. Then he left to go buy a g-string for Lisanna. Laxus felt like this was akin to losing a few battles, but winning the war.

And Lucy finally came home fifteen minutes after he gave up and left her a note before leaving to get ready.

 _Lucy,_

 _Pack light and meet me at the train station at eight in the morning. The weather will be warm._

 _Laxus_

She felt a little excitement as she grabbed her bag and started throwing clothes in. How and where had been a question in her mind. Laxus had roommates, and she had a number of 'intruders.' Even if they went to a hotel, Magnolia in general was the worst place. Fairy Tail was everywhere.

After she finished packing, so she cleaned her apartment, took a shower, and failed at sleeping well due to the excitement. In the morning she hurried to the train station to meet her beloved, who was standing next to the platform with two tickets.

Laxus grabbed her around the waist and kissed her as he spun her once. "Let's get out of this damn town."

When they boarded, Lucy realized he must have had Wendy cast a troia spell on him, because once the train started, he remained calm and collected rather than bowing over from nausea. As fate would have it, their compartment was empty besides them, so Laxus pulled the divider shut and gave her a little devil's grain as he took a seat next to her.

Lucy smiled back at him and leaned into him when he put an arm around her. She'd become so accustomed to his touch that it felt so right to be next to him. With her eyes closed, she rested against him and nuzzled against him. "Laxuuuuus..."

He smirked a little, because he loved when she was feeling sweet. "What is it, my sweet little minx?"

"Happy birthday."

He kissed her hair. "Not going to lie. This is probably going to be the most awesome birthday of my life."

"I'm excited."

"Me too. Let me show you." Laxus teased as he took her hand and guided it over the crotch of his pants. At first, she jerked her hand back and he laughed. "Poor little virgin...just wait until I get my hands on you. Unless you're scared."

Then, determined to be brave, she waited for him to relax and close his eyes. Without warning and with a surprisingly swift move of her hand, she gave him a light rub through his pants, tracing the outline of _him_ from the center between his legs and then down his pants leg.

Laxus crossed his arms to keep himself from grabbing her, his head still back, eyes closed as he let out a soft groan through gnashed teeth.

"Do you like that, Laxus?"

One eye narrowly opened and he rolled his head over to watch her from the corner of his eye. "Again."

She did it again, this time with more pressure, and felt movement under her hand that caused her to jerk back. "It moved!"

What else could he do besides burst out laughing? "Babe, it didn't 'move,' although it can—I'll show you later. It's getting hard because you're stroking it. Keep it up and you're going to lose your virginity on a train."

A look of mischief flashed in her eyes, and she waited patiently for her time to strike. In fact, she waited for almost two hours, then she repeated this action, pressing a little harder.

In an instant, she was on her back and he was above her.

Their lips crashed against her as they lay sprawled across the seats. One of his palms slid up her skirt to the top of her thigh as his tongue slid past her lips. They tangled together, kissing, for what felt like an eternity.

The compartment door slid open, and they were so lost that she didn't notice and he didn't care. At all. If he had two fucks to give before he got her on her back, he calculated he had a negative six fucks to give about stopping.

And then, that smell...

His nose crinkled and he opened his eyes and sat up.

Lucy turned her head, eyes glazed over in desire, and then snapped out of it immediately and shot up as Laxus, whose tank was pulled up to his chest, ignored his own state as his hands moved to put Lucy back in order. He buttoned her top and straightened out the skirt that he'd hiked up around her waist. Her hair was a mess and she looked completely disheveled. She was horrified, so she looked down rather than looking at anyone else.

Then Laxus straightened his shirt out and ran a hand through his hair. Lucy just _wished_ she could be so cool in such an awkward moment.

Rufus and Orga of Sabretooth sat there and stared.

And stared.

And stared.

Laxus had an extremely obvious, extremely huge erection as he crossed his arms and scowled with lips smeared with her lip gloss. Lucy generally looked like a mess, and in her virginal innocence, operated under the assumption there was some amount of combing her hair with her fingers that would remove the look from her countenance a woman gets when being handled properly by a man.

Rufus smirked. "Memorized."

Lucy screamed,, "Pervert!"

"How am I a pervert? I'm just trying to get home. I'm pleased the train ticket came with a free show," he calmly said, "And may I say that you are positively striking."

Ogra slapped him in the arm. "Our guild needs some pretty girls. Lightning attracts, you know. Maybe it'll attract that cutie there. We never did determine whose lightning was better. Is now a good time for you, or did so much of your blood rush to your boner your brain can't focus on a fight?"

Laxus' move was so fast and so silent as he hit Ogra in the nose with the base of his palm that the only sound anyone heard was the bone snapping. No one in the compartment could even say for sure if he'd fully moved from his seat because by the time they realized 'oh shit, Laxus just smashed his face,' the lightning wizard was back in his seat looking exactly as he had before. His expression was so smug as he smirked, "I don't even need my brain to defeat you, so that's a moot point."

Ogra covered his nose with a handkerchief, looking up with alarmed eyes as he hissed through the pain.

Laxus turned to Rufus. "Do you have anything else to say?"

"I wonder if I could memorize your magic..."

Lucy jumped between the two on the seats facing them and Laxus. "NO ONE IS FIGHTING ANYONE, YOU GOT THAT?!"

The Sabertooth men blanched at the sudden, unexpected shouting, but Laxus had long developed an immunity to it. That was her 'take me seriously' voice, and Laxus suspected if a fight followed that he would be the least of Sabertooth's problems. Lucy was notoriously powerful when in this state, which he compared to dragon force, only for Angry Lucy.

Laxus might have defied her on a normal day, but he believed that pissing her off would probably grievously effect his chances of getting some.

When she got up to use the restroom, Laxus sighed. "If you two want to rumble, meet me in a week in the East Forest. If you're chickenshit, I understand. I'll take you both on. Hell, bring your whole guild. I'm feeling pretty good."

"I'd like to see you take the twin dragons," Rufus quipped.

Laxus shrugged. "Loser has to pose nude in Sorcerer's Weekly."

Lucy came back and found there was peace, and she _knew_. But she let it go, because as long as they didn't ruin this day, she could care less what happened later on. Male wizards just behaved this way, and accepting it was a big part of getting along with them.

The Sabertooth wizards thankfully got off the train before the troia wore off, and for the last two hours of the trip, he laid with his head in her lap, immobilized by nausea. He was a little cute to her in this state.

When they got off at Hargeon, he revived as soon as the motion stopped and returned to himself.

They stopped at a little cafe not far from the train station since they'd gone practically the whole day without eating.

They were still lit with excitement and anticipation, but after waiting for three months, they'd learned to appreciate the _want_. Their affection wasn't a short, fleeting lust, like a wildfire that grows quickly and goes out. It was a slow, passionate burn that could destroy anything in its path.

As they ate, he told her about Natsu, causing the blonde to face palm and shake her head. She wanted to scold Laxus for letting Natsu think giving Lisanna panties was a good idea, but she agreed with the fact that Lisanna would both comprehend his intentions and accept the poor way he executed them.

They talked about the jobs he'd been on lately, and she talked about hers. They talked about their friends, and the guild, even Raijin the tiger, and Laxus realized that he'd never had a true confidant before. Over the course of their relationship, he had started marking things in his mind so he could tell her about them and somehow, they had grown together like this.

Lucy was about to take a bite of her fish when she noticed he'd stopped eating and was simply watching her, a look of unabashed adoration on his face. He had been doing this recently, and at first, she thought something was wrong, but now she knew it was because he loved her, even if he never looked her in the face and said it.

She grinned at him and reached across the table to squeeze his hand. "What are you thinking about?"

"You already know," he teased.

The blonde shook her head. "You're not thinking about sex. You have a peaceful look."

"Since when do you know me well enough to know when I'm lying? What I was really thinking is that 'this woman is incredible.' And there you go. Our spirits are entangled. I've never been entangled. But I don't want to be free."

Lucy giggled a little. "You made it sound like I'm some vicious spider that spun some elaborate web to capture you."

Laxus squeezed her hand back. "Most female spiders conclude mating by removing and eating the head of the male, but I'll probably be so happy I won't mind if it comes down to that."

She lightly kicked him under the table with a little laugh. "Laxus, why are you so bad?" she teased.

"The better question is, 'Why do you keep coming back for more?'"

Their eyes met and a spark ignited as she answered, "Because I'm entangled. I don't want to be free, either."

Laxus threw money on the table in gross excess of their bill, threw their bags over his shoulder, and yanked her up from her chair, pulling her against him. When his lips met hers, she felt the familiar pulse of lightning teleport, but this time, they moved twelve hops across the sky, abruptly piercing the sunset sky with lightning.

When they came to a stop, she broke the kiss and found they were on the beach. Hargeon was in the distant horizon, so they were on an island, and it was dead quiet except the sound of waves and insects that were starting to sing their night songs.

She turned, and there were stone steps that led up to a big hut-like structure. There were big doors that he opened to reveal a bed with white linens inside. "Where are we?"

"This island belongs to the king. He told me I could use it if I ever needed to get away for a few days. We are the only people on the island."

Even though she wanted to explore, the taste of him from their heated kiss trumped all other ideas. "L-Let me get ready, okay?" she nervously asked.

Laxus nodded and gave her another kiss. "Don't be nervous."

The blonde dragged her bag to the huge spa-like bathroom that adjoined the bedroom while Laxus went to another to wash away the sweat motion sickness always produced.

When he came out, she was just turning the water on, so he shook his head and took a look around. Then he went outside and walked along the beach in his boxers, waiting expectantly for Lucy, who was trying to wash away eighteen years of virginal anxiety.

The island had a rocky side that started not far, and so instead of following the beach, the path led to a huge maze garden, which was the source of the floral, tropical scent on the air. Laxus walked through the maze for a while, using his senses to find the real exit, and found it came to an abrupt end on a cliff covered by jasmine that hung over the ocean.

He returned to the room and picked up the scent of shampoo. _Damn this girl is washing her hair. I'm never going to get any_ , he inwardly thought as he realized he'd have to wait on her to condition and dry it and then whatever else—he'd been in and out of the shower in five minutes.

He collected blankets and pillows and relocated them to the cliff, because for whatever reason he'd always felt driven to blow her mind. If she expected one thing, he'd always give her something better.

Lucy did indeed wash and condition her hair, and double check that the spa hadn't missed any spots on her wax, and then she stood naked in front of the mirror as she dried her hair. She was nervous, and suddenly, Virgo appeared.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here?!"

"Punishment, Princess?"

"Of course not."

The spirit gave her a little smile. "Tonight, Princess is the one getting punished."

"Punished?" she thought out loud as she suddenly imagined Laxus holding her on a leather leash while she was bent over, a mental image that Virgo was wholly responsible for. "I don't think so."

Virgo held out a white and gold teddy with ties all down the back and a seemingly flat keyhole right between the breasts. "I brought you something from our world. He won't be able to remove this after you put it on unless he has this key." She placed it in Lucy's hand, and Lucy decided it might be fun to play a game with Laxus.

Clothing he can't destroy!

Lucy put it on and admired how it flattered her curves, and then she took the key and tucked it between her breasts. She put on a little eye liner and some lip gloss and took a deep breath.

 _I'm about to lose my virginity._

She expected him to be waiting, but he wasn't. In fact, she searched the whole hut and didn't find him, but when she returned to the room, she walked barefoot down the stone steps and found his footsteps led into the maze garden.

"I can smell you, Lucy," he called.

His voice seemed almost menacing, like she was being hunted. So she giggled and she followed a path where his footsteps were not and hid in the maze. Because she worked with a dragon slayer, she knew very well what the limitations on scent were. He could tell she was there and pinpoint within a certain direction, but he was not a bloodhound and couldn't follow to her exact location.

When she looked down, she found a pebble at her feet and threw it over the nearby rows and heard him move quickly to that spot.

Maybe this could be fun?

Her movements were soft and quiet, and she continued to do things to annoy his senses, like throw a rock and rustle the plants six feet away while she ran in the other direction.

Lucy believed in part that the reason the reason the game lasted as long as it did was because he was turned on and had a hard time giving his senses the attention necessary. But, the game did come to an end, just as she saw the exit to the garden, and he pounced like a tiger.

She landed on her back on the little bed he'd made on the cliff. The fluff of the blankets cushioned her fall, and he was on her in that instant because she had toyed with his inner predator.

Laxus caught her ear between his teeth and lightly bit down. "Bad girl..." he came down for a fevered, hot kiss and broke it quickly. "You want to be bad for me, Lucy?"

When he looked down at Lucy, his heart went into overdrive because she was everything in that moment. Like a gold and white wrapped present, she laid there ready to give him her body in its entirety. Her blonde hair spilled all around her, and he ran a hand through it as he came down to kiss her again.

This time, they didn't have to stop, they didn't have any rules, and they didn't have to worry they'd go too far. This was a night to go as far as possible and consummate this divine entanglement.

He rocked his body and sat up, pulling her into his lap as he started to pull at the strings that went down the back of her lingerie.

Lucy said nothing and pressed her body against him, rolling her hips instinctively to grind against him. Laxus growled and pulled harder on it, and then tried to claw at the strings, blast them with lightning, and when that didn't work, he tried to simply rip the offending garment off of her.

He pushed her off his lap and gave her a rather unhappy glare. "Magic lingerie? Well, fuck my life and everything in it. Take it off," he ordered.

Lucy stood up and looked down at his desperate face.

When he saw the keyhole, he shook his head. "I knew I should have made you leave the damn keys in Magnolia."

Some part of him wondered which one of them had done this. Perhaps... _Loke the Cockblocker_?

She pulled the key from between her breasts, and his interest fixed on them immediately.

She smiled at him.

"You better not, Lucy Heartfilia. I swear on Mavis' grave I'll make sure you can't walk tomorrow," he threatened as he practically saw the thought on her mind.

But she did.

Lucy threw the key off the cliff into the ocean.

Laxus dashed after it and plunged head-first into the water twenty feet below like a dog chasing a ball. She looked over the edge as he made a skillful dive and disappeared beneath the waves. It was a long time before he surfaced, and when he did, it was only for air, and he disappeared again.

It took the lightning dragon slayer fourteen minutes and seven trips to the surface, and Lucy was looking for him when he leapt from the water and kicked off the rocks until he handed deftly beside her.

His hands were empty and on his sides.

"Don't tell me you couldn't find it?"

He smirked, and she saw the key was held in his teeth. Laxus took the key between two of his fingers and sent it sailing through the air like a throwing knife, and it landed expertly in the key hole, which caused the infuriating garment to dissolve into cloud of gold dust.

Suddenly nude, she crossed her arms over her chest, feeling a surge of embarrassment. "Laxus..."

Laxus slid his boxers off and threw them, leaving the two naked on the beach. "Look at me. Let me look at you."

His girl swallowed nervously, but let her hands drop to her sides. She looked at him in all of his self-confident glory and blushed even more when she saw _it_.

They embraced again, this time a little softer and gentler, and she felt her breasts press against his body, which seemed quite a bit warmer than hers. Laxus gently lowered her onto the little bed he'd made and laid beside her while their hands explored. Her anxiety melted as she slid under the spell of desire and he touched and kissed down her neck to her breasts and stomach.

His hand slid down between her legs, and as soon as his fingers made contact with her, she cried out, "Laxus!"

Then he sat up a little to change position and she saw him fully erect.

Lucy made a sound that most closely resembled an 'eep!'

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She looked down. "That..."

Laxus looked down at his cock and said, "You should have known when you noticed my hands. Relax, I'll be gentle, Little Girl. Trust me, okay?"

When he moved to her feet and put the palms of his hands on her kneecaps, she felt another surge of anxiety. Laying a gentle kiss on one of her thighs, he pushed her legs open and bent down to kiss her core.

There were reasons to go slow with sex, but with this?

Lucy frantically grabbed at the blankets, at the sand, and then finally at his hair, fisting her hands in his blond locks as she called his name, unable to describe or really process what he was doing. But it was so good that she couldn't really think anymore, and she didn't want him to stop.

She found herself a mewling, moaning mess, begging him for something although she wasn't sure what it was that she wanted him to do: let her have an orgasm there? As the minutes ticked on and her cries became more desperate, she became aware of some _emptiness_ inside of her. It was a burning, desperate desire that demanded him.

Since she'd never had sex or even had anyone touch her intimately before, it a primal, powerful urge that seemingly came out of nowhere when he started to touch her and grew with every lick and suck. And God...when he pulled on her labia with his teeth, she let out a little scream.

When she couldn't take it anymore, she mumbled,"S-Stop."

Laxus seized immediately and looked up to make sure his muse was okay. "What is it?"

"I want you."

He moved up and propped himself up on one elbow. He planted a kiss on her lips and her face crinkled up a little because he smelled like...her.

Again, he smiled at her. To him, it really was kind of precious in a way that she shared all her firsts with him. He remembered his own 'firsts' and knew that these were important milestones in her life. He also knew that these uncomfortable moments were signs of growth from transition from virginal girlhood to her empowering future as a woman.

"You'll get used to everything," he said as he kissed her forehead.

Lucy nodded and reached up to cup his face with her hand. "You're really awesome, you know."

Laxus turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand, eyes burning with heat. "You have no idea how much I love you. It's fucking crazy."

Warmth flooded her soul and she smiled softly. "I love you too. It's not crazy to me. I just feel like we were always supposed to be like this."

He kissed her passionately for a couple of minutes, waiting for her body to relax a little as she could feel his cock brush up against her. "You're a virgin, so this might hurt like hell from what I've heard. How do you want me to do this?"

She shook her head. "All at once. I want to get it over with."

He nodded in understanding and positioned himself at her entrance, causing her to whimper a little in want. Leaning on his left elbow, he held her hand tightly with his right hand and in one movement, buried himself in her.

Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs, her body contorting from the pain. Her back arched and she clenched his hand as he lay still in her. "Huge!" she hissed as she winced, her legs shaking as the pain radiated from her. "You're too big..."

Laxus decided that had been a terrible plan.

The smell of blood hit his nose, and the walls of her clenched down on him as she struggled to adjust to the presence of him inside of her.

When he started to pull out, she wrapped her legs around him, as if trying desperately to keep him inside.

"Don't move.." she whispered.

For three very long minutes, he held completely still, feeling bothered by the fact he'd hurt her, flattered by the memory of him saying he was huge, and hopeful that the pain would subside so her first time wouldn't be ruined.

He felt her body gradually start to relax, and she loosened the grip of his hand. She nodded, and he moved slowly at first. Lucy could still feel a dull sting, but it was nothing compared to the way he felt moving in her.

Laxus did his best to be gentle, but after two minutes she made a noise not unlike a growl and dug her fingernails in his chest. "Not so gentle. Aren't you supposed to be a monster?" she moaned.

The dragon slayer wasn't exactly sure what her pace was, so he sat up and pulled her onto his lap, impaling her on him.

Her pace was fast and rough, and she bounced up and down on him between heated kisses, panting as her hips moved on pure instinct. With him and him alone, she was this brave to take what she wanted from him. They were lovers. They were friends. They were animals. When he felt her close to release, he put her back on her back and slowed it down a little, much to her frustration.

He established this cycle of changing positions, never letting her have an orgasm. She begged and begged, and at other moments of the cycle, when she was bent over on her hands and knees or riding him, she'd try to frustrate him so much he would let her climax.

"Stop teasing me," she hissed as he kept her on the edge.

He bent down and purred, "I might let you cum if you hadn't made me swim in the goddamned ocean, Little Girl."

The blonde whispered, "But I want to feel you cum in me, Laxus."

And with that, Lucy had uttered the magic words and upon speaking them, knew that she had.

Laxus, now drenched in sweat, set a near frantic pace, slamming into her as she arched her back and begged for more.

When Lucy opened her eyes, dragon scales were visible across his cheeks and chest.

"Cmon Lucy, cum for me," he whispered.

Their spirits—entangled as they had suddenly realized—snapped into bliss at the exact same moment, and she cried out his name as she fell into an intense orgasm that was only punctuated to the feeling of his climax and the feeling of his seed pumping into her with every primal thrust of his hips.

He stayed inside of her for a minute and afterward, the storm started and cool rain started to fall on their massively overheated bodies as they snuggled on the blanket.

That was their first time.

Their second was in the thunderstorm that followed, as was their third. The fourth was in the maze garden. Their fifth time was in the bed, after which they finally gave up and went to sleep.

"...Happy birthday..." she whispered in exhaustion.

He kissed her hair. "You're perfect."

 _ **Please Review!**_

Special thanks to lovehotcwguys, jk, darkangelily, gues, yumeyumi1986, adabs 18, darkFae7, Guest madcat27, Mwolfe13, and ArouraLeona for reviewing!


	7. The Talk

One week later, Laxus perched himself on a rock in the East Forest, waiting patiently for Sabertooth. He was still feeling really good, having spent five straight days in bed on the island and a day recovering in Magnolia. Laxus honestly felt like he could smash Sabertooth quite easily.

Off to one side, Jason and a group from Sorcerer Weekly were gathered, and behind him was Fairy Tail. Whoever lost was going to get naked in the woods immediately thereafter to pose for nude pictures.

Makarov jumped on the rock beside him and asked, "How did all this transpire?"

"I ran into them on the train."

"You have a plan?"

Laxus shrugged. "Win."

The arrangement of Sabertooth was predictable. They put their strongest five in front: Minerva, Sting, Rogue, Rufus, and Orga. Then their second tier, including Dobengal, was next, and the minor characters in the back.

Sting, the leader of the guild, thought this would be an excellent way to show the strength of the guild. "I have a condition," he called.

"Hmm? You want something? Let me pretend I care."

Sting smirked in a way that was oddly reminiscent of Natsu. "After we defeat you, it's a free-for-all between our guilds."

Laxus seemed oddly amused by this. "Oh? You realize Gildarts is here?"

"Come at us, sparky! We'll beat you and the old man!" Sting called.

The lightning dragon slayer gave Sting a smug smirk. "Oh, so you're stupid. I didn't realize that was the problem."

The only thing he could compare this pointless, meaningless taunt to was when he was a teenager and little prepubescent Natsu would screech about beating his face into the dirt.

Laxus rushed forward, but just short of the front line, took a deep breath to prepare for a breath attack, and leapt into the air, doing a flip and teleporting to behind Sabertooth. The breath attack mowed down everyone except the five in the front, and he charged forward as Rogue and Sting prepared to do a combo attack.

Rufus started to do _something_ , and he picked up his pace. Instead of using magic on him, he grabbed Rufus and threw him face-first into the dragon slayers' attack, then swung him around and hit Minerva in the face as he gave Rufus some high voltage. His limp form made a fine bludgeoning instrument, he decided. He threw Rufus back to knock Orga down and then dashed forward to hit Orga with a lightning attack.

Before he let go of Rufus, he held him up by the hair and whispered, "Don't you ever disrespect my girl, you got that?"

Rufus nodded and crumbled to the ground when he was dropped.

Lightning erupted on the field, separating the members of Sabertooth, and Laxus dealt with the other four methodically: Orga he teleported about eight hundred feet in the air and dropped, sending him plummeting to the ground. Laxus meanwhile teleported about a forty feet above the twin dragons and brought his raging bolt down on them as he landed and threw Rogue into the ground, face-first with an electrically-charged blow to the back of his skull.

Then, with a deft flip, brought another crushing blow to Sting that left him twisting and twitching on the ground.

Finally, he had Minerva, and he moved in close and threw her at a cloud of black falling from the sky, so she and Ogra exploded in a ball of black lightning. Ogra brought her down with him so hard they left a ten foot crater in the ground.

Laxus kicked Rogue and Sting into the hole, and threw Rufus atop the pile, and then leapt high in the air and did a breath attack into the crater followed by a series of lightning bolts.

The Fairy Tail members gathered watched in horror at the sight of him. It took fifty-two seconds for him to render every member of Sabertooth helpless.

The scary part was this:

No one landed a direct blow on him.

Lucy, who was standing on the sidelines, was almost paralyzed in wonder at the sight of him. She was used to seeing some pretty impressive magic with Natsu, but Laxus was a level beyond him. He was devastating, deadly, and moved with a precise, calculated aura of electrical doom.

God, it made her so hot, and she didn't want to admit it because she still had to pretend it was petty and foolish.

As if he was reading her mind, he looked over and smirked. If it made her hot to watch him smash somebody, it made him hot to do it. Plus, what man didn't like to show off in front of his girl? He really wanted to grab her and teleport her off to some random place in the forest and have his way with her, but he willing himself to have just a little more self control. This self-control only lasted another twenty seconds.

Then she bit her lip and grinned, acknowledging her deadly attraction to the alpha male. Laxus was easily the strongest wizard under the age of thirty and there was something very arousing about the precise deadliness with which he carried himself in battle.

Laxus craned his neck to the pile of Sabertooth. "Maybe in a hundred years, SaberPunks. I have a pretty girl to tend to and all of you have a photoshoot."

So, while Sabertooth was facing humiliation, Laxus had Lucy vanished with a bolt of lightning and reappeared elsewhere, Lucy pinned against the trunk of a tree by his body..

In his eyes, being with Lucy was like winning the lottery. Most of the time, she wanted it rough and heavy and hard, and he wanted to give it to her like this most of the time. Occasionally, their near-violent sexual romps were interrupted by a 'sweet round,' but for the most part, he viewed her as being an infernal Venus. She wasn't one of those whose bodies was like a puzzle, and one had to tweak here, rub here, and suck here in order to guarantee a good time. On the contrary, Lucy Heartfilia was so driven by the passion of her heart that as long as they were tangled up together, she was down.

He unzipped his pants and hiked her skirt up. He ripped her panties off and threw them aside as their bodies came together. She let out a sharp scream as he spread her open on himself.

Meanwhile, Makarov missed when Laxus slipped away with Lucy and went to find his grandson to both berate him for getting into a pointless fight and congratulate him for winning. This contradictory reaction to such incidents was largely to blame for the fact they kept occurring.

He could sense his grandson's magic, so he took a walk down a winding path and broke into a clearing to find Laxus having Lucy, who was pinned against a tree whimpering for him to give it to her harder.

Makarov stood shocked. "Shit..."

Laxus absolutely froze, as if his entire body was instantly paralyzed. He turned and looked down at his grandfather, who was standing next to her ripped up pink panties.

Laxus wondered what he was supposed to do, so they were all frozen in place.

Lucy pushed on his arms and got down, which caused him to slide out into the open air with a _pop_ sound, now erect and fully exposed. Her boyfriend pulled his pants back up and they all just stared at one another.

And then, she left, mumbling something or another about 'getting caught again.' "S-Sorry Master."

Makarov felt for her discomfort, but his answer only increased it. "You don't have to apologize. I'm glad."

"Glad..." Lucy repeated the word as if it nauseated her.

"I mean I'm glad that you're happy together. Whatever is going on here...I have no opinion. Well, put on a condom for God's sake, Laxus. That's my opinion."

This left the lightning dragon slayer and his grandfather. "Gramps..."

"..." Makarov's answer, however silent, was well-heard.

The elder finally said, "I wanted to congratulate you on your victory, but I think someone already beat me to it. Do we need to have a talk about safe sex?"

Laxus cringed in horror at the idea that he'd not only been caught, but that his grandfather had seen his junk and then had the unabashed nerve to comment on it. "She's on birth control. And no. God, we don't need to talk about this at all, ever, for any reason," he grandson quickly and rudely answered.

Makarov suggested, "Have you considered children? I'm getting on in years, I want to see my great grandchildren grow up."

"You don't have any great grandchildren."

"Whose fault is that, Laxus?!" the elder quipped.

Laxus crossed his arms and sulked. "I don't know why you're looking at me."

Makarov narrowed his eyes. "Do I need to spell it out?"

"No." Laxus narrowed his eyes and they stood there, looking just alike down to the glare. "I'll have a kid when I damn well please."

 _A small victory_! Makarov thought. "So you do plan on having one!"

"I didn't say that!" he exclaimed.

"Oh ho ho! Laxus, you've finally grown up! Can't you just imagine it?"

Laxus' frown deepened. "It's nauseating. In fact, everything about this conversation makes me want to vomit."

"Oh grow up!"

"Gramps...stop. Just stop."

Lucy slipped away behind a tree and then ran hard and fast in the opposite direction. She had no idea where exactly he'd taken her in the forest, but she did know that she needed to be away from the Dreyars immediately and that she and Laxus needed to never have another moment of public PDA.

(They were a mere six hours away from getting caught making out in an alley by Wendy.)

Laxus and his grandfather had a most nonsensical argument:

Makarov said, "Do you want me to die before you finally have a kid?"

"I don't any consideration of the sort because _I'm not trying to have a kid_."

"I think that's the definition of inconsiderate, and I think I raised you better than that," his grandfather said, feigning offense.

Laxus brought his palm to his face slowly and pinched the bridge of his nose in awkward frustration. "Gramps, I am exactly what you raised me to be. You had twenty-three years to correct that, but it's a little late now. I don't know why you would be looking forward to the next generation of Dreyars considering the last two, but very little of what you do makes any sense to me."

Makarov sulked right back at him, imitating his childish body behavior. "Well, the first kid I raised turned out bad. Then there was you, and you are ehh...I can put up with your shit now but in the middle you were quite the little bastard. I figure third time's the charm."

His grandson narrowed his eyes at this insult in all of its multi-faceted glory. "I'm glad your multiple failures to parent have filled you with such great confidence."

"Practice makes perfect."

"Is that what we're calling my childhood now?"

The elder shrugged. "Why not?"

Laxus shook his head. "And why do you think you would be raising a kid that I made?"

"Please. Do you plan on being a competent father?"

"For the last goddamned time, I'm not planning to be a father right now at all."

Makarov suddenly became extremely bored with this conversation, probably because he'd annoyed his grandson, which was really his only objective. Having accomplished his mission, he turned to leave his grandson but stopped, "Oh, as your guild master..."

His hand suddenly grow to insane size and smashed Laxus over his head, planting him face-first on the floor of the forest. "Apparently you told Natsu it was a good idea to seduce Lisanna...you're not the only one who hit it over the weekend. You're going to have a talk with him about the birds and the bees. Answer all his questions."

"B-but..."

Laxus growled under his breath.

"This is one thing a guildmaster must be able to do with his children as they become adults."

"Then why don't _you_ do it, Gramps?"

Makarov raised his hand and held up two fingers. "One it's your fault. And two, you need to start acting like a guildmaster."

Laxus capitulated because he knew his grandfather's game and it wasn't even worth playing it. "Whatever."

The next evening, the lightning dragon slayer erased the drawing board in his grandfather's office and drew careful, deliberate strokes on the board. This was _easily_ the worst assignment his grandfather had ever given him, and he'd much rather be killing a monster than doing this. He had a box of condoms and a banana.

There was a knock on the door, and Natsu came in. "Gramps said you want to talk to me."

"What I want is to get so shitfaced drunk I don't remember what we're about to talk about, but anyway, come have a seat."

"What are we about to talk about?"

"Sex."

Natsu paled and pivoted quickly on one foot, but Laxus grabbed him and slung him into the chair. "DO NOT WANT."

Laxus narrowed his eyes. "Let's get this out of the way and never speak of it again."

He pointed at the calendar he had drawn on the dry erase board. "The most important thing to know about sleeping with women is that women have a clock inside of their bodies."

"A clock! What does it look like?"

"Please don't talk."

Laxus colored one of the weeks in. "There are four weeks. Womens' cycles make them crazy for approximately half of their lives. They have a week they are batshit crazy two to seven days, and then the week after that, they bleed for about a week."

He wrote 'BATSHIT CRAZY' across one week and 'BLOODY' on the next one.

Natsu raised his hand.

"...what."

"Why do they bleed?"

Laxus took a deep breath and pointed to the illustration he'd drawn on the board. "Women have completely different organs on the inside. They have this, the uterus. If a woman got pregnant, this is where the baby would be. It develops a bloody lining that somehow is useful for a baby,which sheds monthly."

"Gross. Why would a baby need a bunch of old-smelling blood?"

"I will break your jaw if you ask any more questions like that."

The elder took a bright red marker and scribbled three days in and labeled them _DANGER_. He tapped on the board hard to get Natsu's attention. "These days are the ones you have to worry about. A woman is fertile during these days and can pregnant. I can smell it, so I assume you can too. You'll want to have sex more during this time, but it's basically a trap designed to cause pregnancy. Be extra careful during this time."

Natsu listened intently, gradually filling with increased hesitation. "You make women sound like monsters. Yeesh."

Laxus threw the condoms at the younger man. "Anyway, in able to not have a baby, you have several tools available." He drew on the board. "First, pulling out. Not really effective and works even less depending on how drunk you are. Second, condoms, pretty effective and useful when you're worried you might wake up with a weird rash. Third, if you're sleeping exclusively with one person, she can take birth control."

The younger listened with increasing horror. "Why would I get a rash?"

"Don't worry about it. It's not really applicable to you. But anyway..." he held up the banana. "Let's do this. Tear, take it out, and unroll. Very easy."

To Natsu, this was worse than awful. The fact that he had to have this talk at all was bad enough, but what made it worse is that the person that was giving it was banging his best friend. Truth be told, he was about to sneak into Lucy's room the night before and saw something he really wanted to ask about. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more curious he was. So as he sat there melting, tearing, and otherwise destroying one condom after another, Laxus watched him drift away.

"What, Natsu."

Natsu asked, "So when a girl puts her mouth on a guy, what is that?"

Laxus cringed, and then his cringe got a cringe. "I thought I heard something on the windowsill."

"That's normal?"

Laxus nodded once. "And vice versa."

Natsu felt a palpable kind of embarrassment. "For a guy to put his mouth...down there..." he paled a little and swallowed hard. Because the moment couldn't be more awkward, Natsu asked, "Do you do that to Lucy?"

One eyebrow quirked in disbelief. "Are you fucking seriously asking me that?"

"I don't really know what to do. I mean, it happened, but it was weird."

The elder brought a palm to his face. "I hate my life right now."

Natsu crossed his arms and looked away. "I don't really want to be awful at it. I'm not used to being bad at stuff."

"You are bad at a very long list of things," Laxus pointed out as he opened and destroyed the last condom. "Like condoms. Get her to go on birth control because this isn't working for you."

Natsu was irritated and frustrated as he set the banana on fire and tossed it in a metal trashcan. "All I want to do is be with her."

Laxus took a deep breath— _this feels like a battle—_ and said, "You'll figure it out. I think most guys are shit at first."

"Really? Were you?"

He leaned on the desk and put his head down. "Awful."

Natsu found this very oddly reassuring and was becoming grateful that Laxus was the one having this talk with him. They eventually went down to the library and Laxus gave him a book with a lot of pictures and information, and considered his job to be done.

He was actually very proud of himself until he went back to the office and found his girlfriend staring at the dry erase board. "Females: _Bloody, batshit crazy, danger..._ " she mumbled, reading the heading and the labels.

"Master made me talk with Natsu about sex because apparently that g-string worked out better than it was supposed to," he explained.

Lucy pointed at the board. "This is what you taught him..."

The fact that she was displeased was painfully evident. "You want to go out?"

"It's Batshit Crazy week. I think I want to go home and take a bath."

He smirked. "I could care less if it is. You're mine, crazy or not. I'll buy you a big chocolate Plue and listen to you complain about your problems."

"You're such a romantic," she sarcastically shot back.

They left the guild, and as promised, he bought her a ton of chocolate and some take-out on the way back to her place. After they ate, he drew her a hot bath and while she was soaking, he played Castille with Plue, who beat him, sadly enough.

"Maybe I'm terrible at this game and I don't know it," he commented.

"Pun pun!"

"No way I'm giving you whiskey. Stop asking. I'm honestly thinking you might need to go to rehab or something," he said to the spirit.

Plue sulked. "Puuuuuuuun. Pun pun pun pun, pun pun pun pun," and then his movements became more frantic, "PUN PUN PUN PUN PUN!"

Laxus rolled his eyes as Plue recounted for the tenth time the unfortunate meeting with his pet tiger. "Raijin thought you were food. You can't blame her. You're little and you look like you'd be pretty tasty. I don't know if you would meaty, or maybe like a pastry..."

"Pun," the spirit said, giving him a middle-finger salute before going in the bathroom and plopping into the bath water with Lucy.

He went in the bathroom and scowled at Lucy and Plue in the tub. "I thought you wanted to bathe alone."

Lucy answered, "Plue isn't going to molest me."

"He might molest me."

"Well, you're not in the bath with us, are you? I'll be out in a few minutes, geeze."

When she came out of the bathroom, Plue was gone and she was wearing nothing but the little red g-string. "C'mere, big boy."

Laxus pounced and pinned her to the bed. "That's better, my little minx."

"No matter how much you piss me off, I can't stay mad at you," she laughed as he kissed down her neck, sending tickling sensations down her neck.

The g-string was destroyed about thirteen seconds later, and after their romp, they lay panting in the bed.

"...you," he gasped, "you're such a bad girl."

She crawled on her all-fours onto his lap. "So what if I like when you grab me by the hips and have your way?"

"Hm? What if I like the way you scream my name when you're face-down on the bed?" he purred as he took her into his arms. "You're quite something, Little Girl."

They kissed and she snuggled against him, still sitting straddled across his lap while he sat up in the bed.

Laxus kissed her again. "I want to spend forever like this."

"Me too."

He cupped her face and looked into her eyes. "I have something to ask you."

"Hm?"

"You said when we talked that we should do things when they feel right."

She nodded once in understanding.

"Marry me."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Every time, Laxus."

"What?!" he incredulously asked.

The blonde rolled over on her side and turned the lamp off. "Every time you have an orgasm you propose to me. And God knows you don't even remember what you say right after sex. I swear you act like it's the first time every time you do it."

Laxus huffed, but he really had no memory of doing this until she mentioned it. He snuggled up to her and said, "One of these days, you're going to tell me yes."

"Go to sleep."

 _ **Please Review!**_

Special thanks to yumeyumi1986, Numinous-Alqua, Darkfae7, aoutre, Tiernank, guest, and arouraleona for reviewing! I really appreciate it and it encourages me a lot as a writer to know that people are following along as the story unfolds.


	8. The Proposal

His nose was broken.

So it was stuffed with tissue.

He was upset his nose was broken.

So he was also drunk.

He was drunk.

He liked how Lucy tended to a hangover.

So he preemptively slithered through her window at 4 am and fell asleep.

When Natsu woke up the next morning, he was caged by Laxus' spooning embrace.

Lucy came home from an overnight mission at ten the next morning and found them happily snuggled, with Laxus' hand on Happy's head as if it were her breast.

The blonde burst out laughing, which awoke everyone at once.

Natsu turned in the bed to Laxus' chest. "Noisy, Lucy..."

'Lucy' rumbled.

They made eye contact and let out a shout in unison. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!"

All this while Lucy watched Natsu roll out of the bed, and Laxus palmed Happy's head, noting it actually felt nothing like her breasts now that he wasn't drunk. There was pointing and shouting, and then Laxus' hangover caught up with him and he covered his ears and closed his eyes.

Lucy shook her head. "This really is what you both deserve. Why do you both have your noses stuffed?"

"Broken nose," Laxus mumbled.

Natsu scowled. "Lisanna threatened my life about sleeping over when you're here, so since you were gone, I really did miss your bed. There are some smells on your bed that are..." he made a disgusted face.

"THEN STAY OUT OF MY BED, NATSU!" she shrieked, delivering a Lucy kick that slammed him into the wall. "I sleep with Laxus in my bed."

"You sleep with Laxus _everywhere_ ," the pink-haired wizard replied, alluding to the sheer number of times they'd been caught touching one another in places one might call 'public.' They literally could not walk down the street to the market without ducking into the alley on the way.

Laxus pulled the curtains closed, pulled the covers over his face, and growled. "For fuck's sake, I'm hungover. I need some peace and quiet. Go home."

Natsu left, stopping to yell under the covers out of sheer spite.

Once he was gone, Laxus heard Lucy systematically walk through the apartment. She closed all the curtains and turned all the lights out. Despite her shouting and rage, no matter what, his baby always took care of him. He'd fallen asleep with all his clothes on, so she undressed him and sent him to shower while she put his clothes and her sheets in to wash. The shower was cool—just the way he liked it during a hangover.

When he got out, he dried off and put on a pair of clothes he'd left there.

The blonde offered him toast with half butter, half grape jelly, a glass of water, and some aspirin. "Eat and then go back to sleep."

"Will you come lay with me?"

"If you're nice."

He grinned at her as he sat on the sofa with the toast. "You really are the most wonderful thing in the whole world. I'm an undeserving bastard."

When he looked up, he saw the date. "One year ago today, we went on our first date."

"Oh, that was today," she noted as she sat in his lap and ran her hands through his hair. "Happy anniversary, Mr. Hungover Dragon."

"Happy Anniversary, Ms. Gonna-Get-It-Rough-When-I-Recover. But for real. Come over tonight. Freed and Bixlow are on a mission, so we can have the house to ourselves. I'll cook," he offered.

Lucy shook her head. "I only eat at your house when one of your roommates cooks. You have a lot of skills, but cooking isn't one of them."

"So mean..."

The blonde felt no guilt. "I don't accept whining from the guy that made me a Spam and banana sandwich."

"Fine. I'll get takeout. You didn't even give it a chance," he answered, feigning offense.

She kissed his forehead. "I'm going to catch a shower. Finish your toast and go back to bed, you silly hungover boy."

While she was in the shower, she heard the door open and saw his outline as he stood in front of the toilet and lifted the toilet seat. "Laxus, I honestly find it really gross that you come in here and pee while I'm showering."

He pulled the shower curtain open, so now he was looking at her naked in the shower while she watched him urinate. "I find it really gross that you have a period."

Lucy yanked the curtain closed. "You may find it gross, but you'd be in a sad state if it ever doesn't show up."

"Touche."

"God, how long are you going to pee?" she asked.

"You have no idea how much liquid I ingested."

Laxus gave it a little shake, flushed the toilet, and washed his hands. Just as he reached for the door knob, a bar of soap hit the back of his hungover skull and he scowled. "Why are you abusing me now?"

"Put the seat down right now," she hissed menacingly.

When she got out of the shower, she put on some pajamas, and crawled into bed with him, content to sleep most of the day away with him.

They went their separate ways in the late afternoon, and just after nine o'clock, Lucy made her way up the path to his house. She could smell burgers and fries from outside and when Laxus opened the door, they kissed like they hadn't seen each other in a year.

Time was marvelous to Laxus when it came to her. The longer they stayed together, the more he felt intertwined. The comfort and trust only grew as the days ticked by and they stayed in love. He was so far beyond commitment and in the realm of giving up his whole self to have her whole self.

They cuddled on the sofa and watched a romance on the lacrima-tron in his living room as they ate from takeout boxes and sipped wine, tiger at their feet.

During the film, Laxus put his arm around her. "Love at first sight is bullshit."

"The first time I saw you, I thought you were a jerk," she smiled as she muted the movie and climbed onto his lap.

Between kisses, he asked, "and now?"

The blonde smirked. "Now I _know_ it. But I also know that I am madly in love with you," she whispered.

"Let's dance..."

"Hmm?"

Laxus led her to the stone patio behind the house and wrapped his arms around her. They were lit by the moon as they moved in the dark. They were were silent at first, and they danced in the quiet of the night, but after a thin sheen of sweat appeared on her brow, he spun her into his arms and kissed her.

"Lucy?"

"Hm?" she answered in bliss.

Her beloved Laxus sank suddenly, and knelt on one knee before her.

Her heart started to pound; this wasn't one of his post-coital things that would be forgotten.

Their eyes locked and she memorized the way he looked as he spoke. "Lucy Heartfilia, there is no one like you in this whole world, and I'm a selfish bastard. I want to keep you for myself forever. You're everything. Smart. Sexy. Full of love...as for me, I'm an idiot and I have a bad temper and I'm stubborn, but I fucking love you.

"Lucy," his voice wavered as he took a ring box from his pocket and opened and she felt butterflies in her stomach, "will you marry me?"

Lucy felt tears sting her eyes as she nodded. "Yes!"

The engagement ring featured an enormous yellow diamond cut into the shape of a lightning bolt and he slipped it on her finger with ease.

She screamed in delight when he leapt from the ground and threw her over his shoulder, spinning her in circles. By the time he stopped and put her down, she was dizzy and she reached out for him. He led her in a slow, dizzy, crazy dance, during which clothes were strewn about and then they made love in a hammock nice and slow.

They were snuggled up close, naked under the stars.

"You're my fiance," she uttered as she kissed him again.

Laxus bit her lip. "How do you want to do this? You want a big wedding, little wedding, long engagement, short engagement?

Lucy thought about it for a minute. "We have a lot of people we know. I think we have to have a big wedding or people will feel left out. But then we have to plan for that. Maybe six months?"

He nodded in agreement. "I thought that too. How about our living situation?"

"You have roommates and I think my apartment is small for two people to live all the time. Especially if one of them is you."

"We'll find a new house."

They talked practicalities for an hour and then she rolled on top and squealed, "We're getting married!"

 _She's so cute about this I feel bad I already want to bend her over..._

 **Please Review!**

Special thanks to Guest, babs, kurahieiritr JIO, chelsannful, adabs18, darkfae7, lucyxanyoneshipper, guest, auroraleoni, and someoen's bastard for reviewing!


	9. The House

523 West Daisy Street

Lucy looked at the address written down on the slip of paper in her hand, and up at the residence, and back down again. The house was four blocks from the guild in a nice little neighborhood. She pushed open a white gate and found her fiance leaning against a huge, shady maple tree that cast a shadow over the entire yard.

Best thing: it was right next to the lake and nowhere near the 'damn East Forest' as Lucy liked to refer to the enchanted monster-filled forest where Natsu and Laxus lived. She'd tried to find a polite way to tell him, but in the end, she'd just had explain there was no chance in hell she was going to live in a dark, scary forest. She was—and would always be—a city girl with minimal appreciation for peculiar fauna.

"What do you think? The people that built it threw a fit and quit Magnolia over the whole Alvarez thing. No one has ever lived here. As you know, I like to get in where nobody else has been before," he said.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I remember being a sweet little innocent virgin."

He flashed his most devilish grin. "You're maybe still sweet and you'll always be little, but innocent and virgin? Those things are long gone, Miss Striptease at 6 am."

"I wanted you to up and get out of bed so we could have breakfast, but all you understood was the 'get up' part," she answered.

The dragon slayer gave her a little glance of disbelief. "You took your clothes off to get me _out_ of bed? Can you even blame me for misunderstanding? Besides, I gave you something to eat, didn't I?"

Lucy slapped his arm. "Laxus!"

Delight danced in his eyes as he put his hands on her hips and pulled her close. "Lucy."

"Anyway! Back to what we came here for." The blonde looked up at the two-story white brick house, with its big windows and its cute little yard. "It's kind of big. The front yard is huge."

Laxus smirked. "There is no backyard. But if it's too big, we can just crash at your place."

"We can afford to live here?"

He nodded. "Remember when I puked up blood on your carpet? I had just finished a 100 Year Quest."

She gave him an uneasy look. "We can afford this house because you let somebody stab you in the liver?"

"I really didn't _let_ him, He just kind of did it. Had he asked, I most definitely would have told him 'no.' I'm not really into that kind of thing, unless you want to try it. I always feel like maybe you have sadist hidden inside of you and you're dying to hurt me."

"What? What on earth are you talking about, Laxus?"

"Nothing, babe. Let's get back to the house, okay?"

Accustomed to his nonsense, she refocused herself and looked around. There was something about the way the light filtered through the leaves of the tree that was almost magical, like they were standing at the edge of the future.

He took her by the hand and led her inside through the big red front door.

The entire back side of the house was made of windows that looked out the lake. It was bright, and blue, and filled the open floor plan with glittering sunlight. There was a balcony that wrapped around the front, and stuck out over the water. "Wow..."

Laxus let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you might like this better than a dingy house in the forest. The windows are enchanted. No one can see in from outside."

"This is amazing. You're amazing."

"There are some stairs that go down to a little dock. You could have little canoe or something, if you're into that. And you love transportation more than me." And then as soon as he had the thought, he aborted it. "I will fucking sink your boat. I hate transportation."

Lucy shook her head. "Laxus, I don't even have a boat. You just told me I could have an imaginary canoe, and then you sunk it, and now we're moving on."

"On to what?"

The blonde launched herself at him and he caught her as her legs wrapped around him. "Me showing you how much I love you and this house and how excited I am we're getting married, even though you're kind of a weirdo."

Laxus looked around the furniture-less house and decided the kitchen counter was as good a place as any. When he put Lucy down on the edge, he stood between her parted legs and kissed her deeply. "I'll have you all over this house, Lucy."

Lucy pulled on his collar and bit his bottom lip. "No one can see us?"

"Not a soul."

She slid off the counter onto her knees and unbuckled his belt. "I think you deserve a reward."

He chuckled at her. "You really are _perrrrfect_ ," he purred when he felt her mouth.

This act was one that had grown on Lucy over time. For a virgin, there was a certain amount of 'oh my God there's a dick in my mouth' shock, but as sex as a whole had become more familiar, she'd learned that this was simply wonderful because she could cause him to beg, squirm, purr like a cat, curse, growl, and yell, all in rapid turn.

A light scrape of her teeth tore a growl from his lips and he looked down at her as his lips worked him.

"Lucy..."

The knob on the front door turned and the door opened with a squeak.

Lucy let him slide from her lips as the voice of an older woman was heard. She was the real estate agent responsible for selling the house.

"Oh? Mr. Dreyar, was your lovely fiance able to make it down today?" she asked.

Laxus looked at Lucy who was, at that very moment _down_. "She did. It's wonderful..The house is wonderful, I mean."

As silently as possible, she tucked him back in his boxers, buttoned his pants, and then...caught his dick in the zipper.

He made a high pitched noise that vaguely resembled the sound Raijin the tiger made when Lucy stepped on her tail as he fell to his knees and quickly righted himself, giving her a glare of utter disbelief as he panted in pain, mouth slightly agape.

"Mr. Dreyar?"

Laxus quickly stood, leaving Lucy still hidden on her knees behind the counter. "Sorry."

"Did you just sneeze?"

"Yes. A sneeze. That was a sneeze."

Laxus took deep, slow breaths. "We'll sign the papers. You want me to come by in the morning?"

"Yes, that's fine. I'll leave you with the keys."

The woman left, and Laxus sank down to the floor next to her.

"I wonder how many times we're going to get caught," he thought out loud.

Lucy shrugged. "We could stop doing it like this, but it's kind of exciting."

He looked over at her. "You have a lot of accidents involving my dick. I'm starting to wonder if you are really into that and I need to prepare for a life of suffering."

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she leaned over and bit his ear. "I love your cock, Laxus."

The dragon slayer trembled and pinned her to the ground, running one hand up her skirt. There were no panties for him to rip off, which made him even hotter because he knew she knew they'd end up doing something crazy like this.

She reached up and ran her hand along his scar. "Pouting time is over?"

"Yes. It's pounding time now, my little minx."

And then they finally got up off the floor and Lucy took a tour of the house. It had four bedrooms, and the master was enormous. There was a huge bathtub and shower that looked out over the lake, and she was so in love with their house she wanted to return to him and pounce anew, but she continued her exploration.

It was all so beautiful.

Laxus put his clothes back on and found her sitting in a window seat in the master bedroom. "Raijin can live with us?"

Lucy had actually come to adore the tiger, who was, as Freed said, quite weak. Raijin was sweet, and cuddly in a funny kind of way. And Raijin and Laxus were so in love with each other it was ridiculous. She couldn't part them any more easily than she could ask Natsu to leave Happy.

"That's fine. She's pretty cool. I think I was just startled when we first met, because you know...someone forgot to tell me she was freakin' tiger."

He sat next to her and when he kissed her, he found her a little pink in the cheeks. "What on earth are you blushing about?" he asked in amusement.

He felt her squirm out of his arms. "It's nothing,"

"Tell me. I thought there was nothing left for us to blush about," he teased.

"No! Leave me alone, Laxus!"

With a snort, he gave her a little tickle. "Never!" He held her from behind with one arm, and tickled her with the other, and she fought him, thrashing around between giggles until they fell on the floor.

When he let her catch her breath, he put one hand flat on her stomach and made his demand. "You will tell me what is on your mind or I promise you I will tickle you until you pass out."

"Fine, fine," she looked away. "I was just thinking about all memories we're going to make here. Being newlyweds and having fights and making up and dancing on the balcony and having babies...stuff like that."

"Babies, huh?"

She saw him turn a little red. "See? You're not that tough."

He looked at her, and then stared up at the ceiling for a minute. There were times that he was so happy that life almost didn't feel real, but no matter what, she was always there. Beautiful, funny, smart, and she challenged the very concept of Laxus Dreyar. She didn't ask him to make a commitment; she made him fall so hard he forgot other women existed.

Lucy was just Lucy, and that was so much more than enough. He'd never been so delighted by anyone ever and honestly believed that she was only one like her in all the world.

For that reason, he felt okay with the rude, boorish way he answered her.

"You want me to put a baby in you, little girl?"

She groaned at him. "Not if you're going to act like that."

He sat up and admitted with a strangely innocent, sheepish grin, "I think you'd look really cute waddling around this house with my kid growing inside of you. Big belly. Craving Spam and banana sandwiches."

Lucy smiled at the thought, but then said, "I'm a little scared of the miracle of life."

"Me too. I'm not one of those guys. I'll wait outside. I think watching a person come out of you would mess up my game for a long time. I was on a train once and they had to deliver his baby. There were so many weird smells, and I'm already nauseated on a train. I have never been drunk enough to vomit more than I did on that day."

"I just don't see you being grossed out by blood."

Laxus tilted his head and looked down at her, "Whether or not blood is gross depends a lot on where it comes from. It is always gross if it involves the genitals or if any other bodily fluid accompanies it."

"So what you're saying is that you, Big Strong and Mighty Laxus Dreyar, would leave me alone for one of the most painful, difficult ordeals of my life because you can't be inconvenienced to comfort me while I have our baby?" she pointedly asked.

He blinked. "Well, when you put it that way...I'm an asshole and I need to grow up."

"Why are we even talking about this anyway?"

Laxus childishly replied, "You can't wait for me to knock you up."

"You are the most ridiculous person in the whole world. I can wait forever if you keep acting like that."

They laid back on the floor and he decided to have one more poke. "You'll probably be laying on your back looking up at this ceiling when I get you pregnant."

Lucy looked into his eyes, "We'll probably conceive our first child in the alley behind the market or the store room at the guild, or that spot by the river, or the bathroom at that restaurant..."

"I'm okay with that."

"Of course you are."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to Kamila-chan, jostlovery, kurahieirtr JIO, adabs18, yuneyumi1986, numinous-alqua, katiekat2001, ladyallyssa, gaia kame, auroraleona, guest, and aoutre for reviewing!**_

 _ **AN: I just love you all so much.**_ **:D**


	10. The Rug

Natsu scowled at her as she moved, but then his sulk melted into a rather handsome grin.

Laxus was so good for her. Since they'd gotten together, Natsu had watched her transform from a somewhat self-conscious girl to a woman. Long gone was the girl who was scared to throw a punch. She believed in her body, and she was learning to use it all kinds of ways. She was surprisingly nimble, and picking up speed by the day.

He'd been hit with a powerful spell and was laid out, but just as he prepared to leap up and shield her, she activated her confidence and sprang into action.

These days, it was all over but the crying when Lucy Heartfilia reached for her whip.

He watched and grinned. "Go Lucy!"

She gave him a thumbs-up and winked as she wrapped her whip around a dark mage's throat and pulled him in to deliver a knee to his nose. She made ugly faces in battle when she really exerted herself, and it reminded him of Laxus. He knew they were weirdly entangled the first time she saw Lucy get pissed in a fight and _snarl_.

But this wasn't a job they were on. This was a rescue mission, because someone woke up and decided 'let's kidnap Lucy.'

A clap of thunder caused Natsu to sit up, and Lucy froze.

"Here comes the thunder...Wow, you made him really mad," Lucy whispered.

This foolish but powerful group of dark wizards needed a celestial spirit mage for something or another. So they had taken her, and Natsu happened to be there, so he chased.

The sky got dark and exploded into lightning, and the dark mage looked around. Lucy and Natsu looked at one another, and Gray and Erza, who were laid out in different parts of the room, all looked around because they knew that two hundred pounds of pissed was about to crash the party.

Lucy was distracted by the lightning and didn't notice a ball of dark magic flying toward her until it was stopped by an explosion of electricity right in front of her. The blinding yellow light lingered and took a familiar form.

Laxus was so incredibly pissed that his magic nearly mad Natsu shake and Natsu knew he wasn't the one that was about to get pounded into the ground.

"H-Hey man, ch-chill..." the dark mage whispered, realizing he'd made a rather colossal mistake.

The lightning dragon slayer tilted his head curiously. "Give me one reason I should show you mercy."

"Well for one, I don't know who you are or why you're so pissed. And two, all I need is a little of the celestial mages blood. A pinprick. You let me have a pinprick, and I won't call my men up here," he threatened.

Laxus headbutted him through the nearest wall and then yanked him back by the arm. " **WHOSE** blood do you plan on spilling?"

"The blood of that _bitch_."

Gray and Erza blanched at the word, and Gray said, "Yo, dude, stop talking."

Lucy watched as her darling fiance punched the man so hard in the mouth that he was thrown through no less than three floors of the tower. "Say it again, I dare you," he growled.

They heard soldiers running up the spiral stairs, but Laxus blew lightning roar down the curved corridor, and all they could hear after that were screams and a chorus of thumps and bumps of about thirty grown men rolling down the same staircase.

The man laid out three floors down could be seen through the hole Laxus left in the structure. He sat up, and he spat out some of his teeth.

"Oh? You can't talk without your teeth? That's a shame. I hope you choke on the rest of them and have to shit them out later," Laxus commented.

Lucy brought a palm to her face. _Prince Charming,_ she thought.

He looked around at the various members of the team and shook his head. Glancing down at Natsu, he said, "Get it together, would you?"

Natsu grinned. "We already beat up most of them. Thanks for stopping by."

Laxus threw Lucy over his shoulder. "I don't take kindly to people touching things that belong to me."

"H-Hey!" she screamed.

They lightning teleported across fifteen or so hops to the balcony of their house, where Laxus currently lived by himself while they were putting finishing touches on it.

Suddenly, Laxus embraced her.

She rolled her eyes.

"Laxus, I really can take care of myself. You don't need to worry."

Then, she realized something was a little 'off' about the embrace and her arms fell at her sides. She knew this trick! She called it the 'artificial hug' which was invoked as a play to quench her wrath preemptively with behavior that was innocently affectionate.

"...What did you do..." she hissed.

Knowing that his ploy had been called out, Laxus let her go and made a bored face. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I was okay before you showed up. Stop trying to change the subject. What did you do, dragon?" she asked.

"Nothing recently. I don't know why they're so hung up on the past."

"Who?"

Laxus opened the door and went inside, and she followed, her eyes immediately drawn to the tiger-print rug in the living room. It was the most loathsome thing in her life, first of all because she hated animal print, and second of all, because it camouflaged their pet tiger and led to Lucy being scared shitless at least twice a week.

In the kitchen, she found he'd made her breakfast: coffee, bacon, pancakes, eggs...and it was still warm.

Laxus poured her some orange juice. "I teleported to your apartment and couldn't find you so I chased your scent. I had no idea you were kidnapped until I was almost there and then I was pretty irrate someone ruined our breakfast. I didn't even burn the eggs this time."

When he fiance made her a plate, her countenance softened a little and she sat in a bar stool at their tall counter, looking at the lake. She loved their home so much, and she was looking forward to sharing it with him full-time.

The meal was actually very impressive considering who had cooked it.

The blonde thanked him for it as she tasted his progress as a cook. Because Laxus would literally eat anything (like literally anything), she believed he hadn't developed good cooking skills. Sometimes, she wondered if the lightning had fried the nerves in his tongue and that was why he was such a wretch in the kitchen.

"So...what did you do? I know you did something that's going to piss me off."

Laxus sat next to her with some coffee. "We can't get married at Kardia Cathedral."

Lucy's spirit sank. "Wh-Why?"

"Apparently, I've blown it up eleven times. They've chosen to take offense."

She swallowed a mouthful of bland egg. "That actually makes sense. You _do_ always go over there and make a mess."

"Usually, saving the city."

"Need I remind you of the time you, Gajeel, and Natsu nearly leveled it?"

There was really nothing Lucy could do to change this, and she understood why the clergy would be antsy about Laxus coming around. It was very true that he very frequently caused massive structural damage to the cathedral, and this simply came with the territory. The trick to being happy with a destructive dragon slayer was accepting it and moving on.

"How about South Gate Park?" she asked.

Laxus nodded. "I already thought of that. It's available, and it's cheaper anyhow."

Really, he was sulking about the cathedral, and felt like he might be a little more delicate with the imposing structure if it held some sentimental significance; for instance, he might be a little hesitate to blast it to hell if it was the place he got married. When he presented this argument to the priest, it was not well-received and was taken as a threat.

He made a mental note to give the cathedral a new moon roof the next time the opportunity presented itself and went back to his breakfast.

Their wedding was in three months, and things were starting to come together nicely. Of course, there were different things that happened here and there, but they were famous wizards so it wasn't like they'd get into a huge fight over something silly like a rug, right?

Hell yes.

When she looked over her shoulder and saw the tiger print rug, she gave it a dirty look like it had personally insulted her. As a frame of comparison, she seemed more offended by the 'tasteless, disgusting fail' on the floor than she had been by her kidnapper.

Laxus grinned devilishly at her annoyance, because it was still there, which meant he won. "It's just a rug, Little Girl."

"I hate it. It's tacky. It's freakin' orange, Laxus. There isn't anything else that color in this whole house! And it just looks so terrible. God, why?!"

He teased her then. "After all we did on that rug the other night?"

She indignantly answered, "...and it's hard to clean!"

This was all fine and good to Lucy. He might have felt like he won the war, but she would come out victorious somehow. One thing she'd learned from him was to take up a position of acceptance and wait patiently to strike.

"I don't know why you have a problem with my taste."

The blonde gave him a look of utter adoration. "There's nothing wrong with your taste. I wouldn't mind it if I was a forty-year-old drag queen who dreamed of living in an animal print and faux fur palace."

His eyes narrowed, but he kissed her on the cheek instead. "When you _are_ forty years old, you'll still be prissy, you'll probably still hate my cooking, and I'll still get on your last nerve just because I can."

Laxus felt her irritation crumble at this earnest affection.

That's what made it hard.

They were so close to each other...

"I'm going on a long job. I'll be back before the wedding, I promise. But uhhh...you might not see me until right before," he announced.

Lucy accepted this; they didn't bitch about each others' teams, jobs, or schedules. They were wizards, and this was the way it was, at least for now.

She had plans, but she ditched them in an instant, and she spent the day with him.

They spent the whole day laying around in the bed. They had a tickle fight, made love, took a nap, had a pillow fight, made love again, ate a snack, _fucked_ _,_ showered, snuggled and talked for hours, and made plans.

When Laxus was sweet, she loved it, and for a minute, she almost forgot this was the same man that had knocked a man's teeth out for ruining breakfast. It was only a matter of time before he pissed her off again, but for some reason, this flow of energy was normal and it was good. He was a challenge—always a challenge!

Lucy stretched as he nuzzled one breast affectionately. "My breast isn't a pillow, you know."

"It's better. No matter how much I tweak my pillow, it'll never moan my name."

This time, it was her turn to pick. And maybe it was because she'd just been downstairs to get some juice and saw the rug, but she was ready to crawl under his skin. "I'm thinking about keeping my last name."

His energy shifted in an instant and he sat up in the bed. "Like hell you are."

"The Heartfilia name means something to me. It's my link to who I am."

He glared. Her voice sounded earnest and sweet, but surely she wasn't suggesting such a thing in his presence. "Lucy Dreyar. That's going to be your name."

She sat up with him. "We could hyphenate. Heartfilia-Dreyar. Our kids could have that last name."

Her fiance's brows rose. "Woman, have you lost your mind?"

"Are you in a chauvinistic mood tonight?"

"Tonight and every night."

Laxus decided she was probably just annoying him for the sake of it, and decided that since was just how they did things, he'd play his part too. "If you want to keep the Heartfilia name, I understand. After all, you being independent involved going from one man who paid all your bills to another. Aren't you a mighty, empowered little woman."

Lucy grabbed the nearest pillow and hit him in the face. When he gave her a dismissive eye roll, she crawled into his lap. She planned on saying something catty, and he planned on saying something rude, but instead, she threw her arms around him. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to be counting down the days," he whispered as he embraced her gently.

 _Yes this is the same man that was talking about a man shitting out his own teeth this morning,_ she thought.

There were moments where he wondered how he'd fallen so hard, but most of the time, he just didn't care. He loved their conversations, their dynamics, their chemistry...she was princess in public, a bitch in battle (but God have mercy on any one else with the nerve to call her that), a goddess in bed, a muse one minute and a maniac the next.

Lucy felt him smile against their kiss and did the same. This was simply everything. The hidden side of him was nothing short of delightful, and if she could spend the rest of her life arguing about that damn rug, she knew she'd be happy because she'd be with him.

Laxus laid back on the bed, and she stayed perched on his hips. The view was perfect; naked, blonde hair disheveled from a romp, eyes glazed over with affection. "I've been thinking a lot."

"What about?" she asked as she took the hands he held out to her.

"Let's ditch the birth control."

Lucy gave him an annoyed look. "That time I forgot and you had to use condoms I wasn't happy. I don't want to switch to that."

Laxus blinked in confusion. "Lucy, you totally missed it."

"Missed what?"

He grinned. "Let's have a baby."

With his senses, he heard her heart flutter in her chest a little.

She couldn't stop the blush that crawled across her cheeks. This was not a conversation about the distant future. But this little desire had been brewing for a while, since the first time they'd talked about it a year before in her apartment. Of course, she loved him to death, so the desire had grown over time and it felt natural.

Lucy squeezed his hands. "You mean..."

Laxus' eyes seemed brimming with warmth as he nodded. "We're going to be married right when I get back. We have an excellent relationship, a nice home, financial stability. We've been together for over a year and the worst disagreement we've had is over a rug."

The blonde leaned down and kissed him. When they'd first gotten together, Laxus had a fear of becoming a father that had bordered on a psychological phobia, but over the course of the relationship, he had outgrown it and come full circle.

The idea of getting pregnant and raising a baby was infinitely exciting to both of them by that point.

He let her think for a few minutes, watching her facial expressions as different thoughts coursed through her mind. But finally, he said, "You'd probably get pregnant not long after the wedding. So during our first year, you can just take a little break and have the baby."

"You're really serious, aren't you?"

"I am so serious."

Lucy nodded once. "Okay. Let's get pregnant, but I have one condition."

"You could ask me for anything and I will tell you yes," he answered in excitement.

"I'll let you get me pregnant after you get that godawful rug out of my living room."

He scowled because he'd been beaten at his own game. "Deal."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to yumeyumi1986, sidjr100, Ladyalyssa, bebelynn, guest, jozanimelover, numinous-alqua, adabs18, misty shayna, gaia kame, kill all regret none, kurahieiritr JIO, fairyfan8, arouraleona, darkfae7, aoutre, katiekat2001, westerngoddess, and miss dany for reviewing!**_

AN: Love!


	11. The Wedding

Makarov stood on the dresser in his grandson's bedroom and straightened his grandson's tie. Laxus was wearing a white tux with a light yellow vest and midnight blue tie, since their wedding colors were yellow and blue. These color were reminiscent of their magic and also the colors they were wearing on their first date.

Laxus had just gotten home the night before, knowing if he missed his wedding his fiancee would skin him alive.

He felt his grandfather mess with his hair and pushed his hand away. "It's never going to lay down. Yours stood straight up just like mine until it fell out."

"I'm happy for you, you know," the elder said.

His grandson answered, "I'm feeling pretty good right now, so I'll tell you something that's going to make your day."

"Hm?"

Laxus said, "Gramps, we decided to have a baby."

Makarov suddenly pulled on his cheek. "Are you sure you're my grandson?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

The elder did something that resembled a victory dance. "When?!"

"I guess whenever it happens?"

"So you're trying?"

The younger shrugged. "I guess. No one has been made in this family on purpose in several generations, so I feel like I accomplished something."

Laxus looked up to the clock. "We better get going."

Makarov paused, looked at his son's hand, and asked, "Does she know?"

His grandson shook his head. "I guess she'll be surprised."

"You're the one whose going to be surprised when she takes your head off."

Laxus took a deep breath. "That's not going to be a surprise. I know that one's coming."

South Gate Park was decorated beautifully for the wedding. There were rows of white chairs with blue ribbons and yellow flowers, and blue and yellow streamers that stretched from the top of the tree to the edge of the park. There were balloons, ribbons, flowers, etc., everywhere.

He was surprised by how many people there were in attendance. Fairy Tail had over a hundred members, and then Lamia Scale, Sabretooth, Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Hell, and Quatro Cerebus had a presence as well. Then there were council members, saint wizards, and even the princess had taken time out of her schedule to attend the nuptials.

There was a stack of wrapped gifts that literally looked like a small mountain.

Laxus got so distracted by the atmosphere that suddenly, it was time for the ceremony to start. He kind of wished he'd been around for any kind of rehearsal or discussion about what was going to happen. But he hadn't, and if he fucked up their wedding, the wedding night was going to be...interesting.

It was Freed that saved him. "Go stand in the front with the priest, okay? You don't really have to do much other than that."

"This is why you're the best man," Laxus whispered in appreciation as Freed vanished.

The bridal party came next:

Freed and Levy.  
Bixlow and Erza.  
Gildarts and Cana.

Laxus mentally noted that Freed and Levy actually looked pretty cute together, but that such a thing could only happen over Gajeel's dead body. But if it happened someday, he'd support it—not Gajeel dying, but Levy and Freed. Erza looked like she was going to pull Bixlow's mohawk out after the ceremony, and Gildarts and Cana were both obviously drunk.

And Laxus realized his brain was full of thoughts that had nothing to do with the issue at hand.

 _I'm about to fucking get married. Shit!_

Anxiety seized him momentarily, but it quickly passed and he waited patiently for the ceremony to continue.

Next, Asuka came down the middle, throwing flower petals not necessarily on the ground, but at the people she passed. Halfway down, she took a cheeky Fairy Tail attitude. "Take this!" she cutely exclaimed, throwing a handful of petals at Bacchus.

Then everyone stood and there she was.

Lucy was a beautiful bride, standing there in a long white lace wedding gown. The a-line dress puffed out as it went past her hips, and it was studded with crystals here and there. The dress was strapless and her hair was pulled up into an updo with the veil draped behind her. Everything about her was gorgeous to him and he took a mental picture of her.

Lucy seemed oddly terrified at first, but when she saw him and he grinned at her, the anxiety fell from her and she slowly made her way to him...on Natsu's arm. Laxus made a face at this that unfortunately captured by the camera.

When they arrived near the front, and Lucy let go of Natsu, the pink-haired dragon slayer leaned over and said to Laxus, "If you don't take care of her, I have six pounds of Etherion I smuggled out of the Tower of Heaven. I'll eat you alive and pick my teeth with your bones."

Lucy smiled for the camera, but said under he breath, "If you two make a scene, I'm the one whose going to do some killing."

Natsu went to his designated seat and Laxus took Lucy's hand and squeezed it tightly.

They stared into each others eyes and zoned out during some lecture about marriage that they probably would have disregarded even if they had paid attention. It was when she looked down at where their hands met that she saw it.

Laxus was missing half of his middle finger on his right hand.

Her mental train of thought was something like this:

 **SDFGHJKLOPI8U7Y6TFRVBNJKE,MDNHGSTFBE!**

He felt it, and squeezed her hand, as if to beg her not to let that thought out.

Lucy just felt like _**being dismembered**_ was something he should have told her immediately. She had seen him last night, and his hands had been in his pockets for most of that conversation. But no, this was Laxus, who showed up to his wedding with a surprise dismemberment and had the unmitigated gall to kiss her on the hair as if that was okay.

But she forced herself to calm down because this was the day she was having a Fairy Tail/ Fairy Tale wedding to a man she could almost call Prince Charming. Almost.

The priest turned to Laxus. "Do you, Laxus Dreyar, take Lucy Heartfilia to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Laxus looked down at her and she forgot she was angry. "I do."

Lucy smiled at him as it was her turn.

"Do you, Lucy Heartfilia, take Laxus Dreyar to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do."

Her heart was racing so fast, and they stared at one another, smiles so big.

The priest asked, "And now for the rings."

Freed and Levy each produced a ring.

They turned so they were facing one another and Laxus took her left hand in his, repeating after the priest, "Lucy, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love. Wear it always as a sign to the world that you are my wife."

Lucy felt like her whole body was going to melt into a puddle when he uttered the phrase, 'you are my wife.' She felt the cold of the ring as it slipped onto her finger, and took his hand in hers.

"Laxus, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love. Wear it always as a sign to the world that you are my husband."

She slid the ring onto his finger, and then held both of his hands.

The priest said, "Without further ado, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may-" Laxus already had his lips on hers, half of his mouth turned up in a smile. "...keep kissing the bride."

"May I present, Mr. and Mrs. Laxus Dreyar!"

Laxus threw her over his shoulder and ignored her squeals to be put down until the photographer told him it wasn't a cute picture. They took pictures—Laxus would estimate at least 15,231 of them—and then there was the reception at the guild which was a far more casual affair. It was really just a big, rowdy party, which was more fitting for their guests.

Laxus lightning teleported them to the guild, and Lucy went to Makarov's office to change from her fluffy wedding dress to a short, white lacy dress. She was attempting to fiddle with the zipper when she felt his breath on her neck. The zipper came down, and Laxus pulled the dress down over her shoulders.

"Hello, Mrs. Dreyar."

"Hey, Mr. Dreyar. I have a little question for you," she sweetly purred.

Laxus kissed her shoulder. "What is it, wifey?"

 **"WHERE IS YOUR FUCKING FINGER?"** she screeched.

His hands fell at his sides. "I thought you'd be so happy about getting married you'd overlook that."

Lucy pulled the dress off and then reached for the dress hanging by the window. "Overlook the fact that you were dismembered and you didn't tell me? Surprise! Look, we're stuck together now forever, so I need you to know what kinds of surprises I like. I like to be surprised with flowers, with chocolate, with spa days...you know, nice things. Not a missing finger!"

"It's half a finger. Who even cares? Are you throwing a fit because it's my longest finger?" he playfully teased.

"You are _so_ insufferable," she whispered. "How on earth did it happen?"

Laxus explained, "I don't know if you've met a Shry before, but they're fast little fuckers and they have big teeth. I had defeated one and it really gave me a hard time, so I flipped it a little bird and it bit my finger off and swallowed it."

Lucy shook her head. "Please don't tell anyone that story. Just say you lost it in battle."

"It might be re-attachable. It got crunched up and partially digested before I could get it back."

The blonde asked, "Back to my original question. Where is your finger?"

"In the refrigerator at our house. I feel like I should tell you that before you discover it accidentally," Laxus zipped her dress up.

Lucy nodded. "So when we go home tonight to have our wedding night and I go to the refrigerator to get the whipped cream and strawberries, there's going to be a mutilated human finger in there?"

"Yes."

"Okay. First of all, after today, no more human body parts in the fridge. I can't believe I have to make this rule, but here we are. And second, you can't start losing parts of your body. You'll end up turning into Gildarts, missing this arm and that leg and the only way he keeps his guts inside is with tons of dirty old bandages he washes in the river once a week," she said.

Lucy would have continued ranting about it, but it felt pointless and she was actually concerned. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really. I got a little careless trying to make it home. I had an important appointment with my girl," he said as he kissed her hair. "I honestly don't give a damn about it. I have a wife. And she's gorgeous and I love her to death or until she kills me, whichever happens first."

She managed a little grin. "I feel like I should keep you around. After all, you are my husband."

"My wife..."

They kissed deeply, and he put his hands on her backside. "We have about ten minutes."

"Not on Master's desk!"

"I haven't had sex in three months," he complained as his forehead fell to her shoulder in a deep sulk. "Do your wifely duties."

"You can wait a few more hours. You're a husband now, so I expect you to behave a little better."

The dragon slayer quirked a brow. "You expect _me_ to behave? You married me, Little Girl."

"And I don't have sex on Master's desk," she chirped as she met his nonchalant eyes. "...anymore."

Laxus grumbled under his breath but went with her to their reception, which turned into one big crazy drunken bash. There was booze, fighting, partying, strange hook-ups of every variety, and Lucy mostly sat up top and watched the drama unfold.

Just after sunset, Laxus decided he'd played nice and been patient long enough and he picked up his bride and teleported her to their bedroom, throwing her down onto the soft bed.

It happened so fast, she was a little disoriented. "H-hey..."

He jumped onto the bed with her. "Mrs. Dreyar."

"Mr. Dreyar."

Laxus threw his jacket off. "Let's make a baby."

 _ **Please Review!**_

Special thanks to yumeyumi1986, LadyAllyssa, Darkfae7, jozanimelover, sidjr100, aoutre, LucyxAnyoneShipper, katiekat2001, Mwolfe13, Arouraleona, gaia kame, and miss dany for reviewing!


	12. The Wedding Night

" _ **Let's make a baby."**_

There was something about the words that turned Lucy on, or maybe it was something about the way he confidently threw his jacket and started throwing his clothes off with that wicked, confident grin. They were high on life, and when he was naked from the waist up, he hiked up her dress, crawling in between her legs.

"This is so exciting," she whispered as he leaned down and bit her lightly on one thigh. She giggled. "You're my husband..."

Laxus tore her dress and her bra straight down the middle and threw the pieces aside. "You're my wife. You're fucking _ **mine,**_ Lucy Dreyar."

The blonde sat up in her white lace panties to help him out of his pants, and he pulled her against him, kissing down her neck.

Laxus was about to lose his mind, somehow so in love he didn't know how much more he could stand. She didn't even _know_...He could usually tell if he got really close to a woman if she was fertile, but since Lucy had been on birth control since the beginning, she didn't have fertile periods. This was the first time he'd experienced this phenomenon with his darling muse. It was intoxicating and he was out of his mind in love with her everything.

The blond pushed him roughly onto his back when his pants were undone and got on top of him. "You want to get me pregnant, dragon?"

His chest rumbled and he threw his head back when she moved her hips. His hips bucked upward and she fell forward onto his chest, lips crashing against each other with feverish urgency. When he reached to push his pants down, she grabbed his hands and held them against the bed with all her might, which, which quite strong, was nothing for Laxus.

With a smirk, he purred, "What do you think you're doing, Little Girl?"

Lucy bit his bottom lip. "Having my way with my husband. My rights as a wife, you know." She rolled her hips in a circle. "You can be a good boy and let me have my fun, can't you?"

"M-Maybe," he panted.

"Good. Don't move. Not even an inch."

She took her hands off his wrists and pulled his pants and boxers off.

Laxus didn't know what kind of game this was, but not being able to move was really nearly unbearable, especially after she sat back on top of him and the only thing separating them were her thin white lace panties. His cock pressed against the offending garment, and he grumbled in frustration but stayed still.

When she sat up, Laxus saw her reach for her pinned up hair with the veil still hanging behind her. The blonde through the veil aside first, and started to unpin her hair. _God, that hair..._ it was almost like striptease as she pulled pin after pin and her hair fell in curls over her naked shoulders and breasts.

It was when the last lock of silky golden hair fell that he lost this game, and lost it in a pretty serious way. Even though he wasn't supposed to touch her, in an instant, he flipped her onto her back and ripped her panties, leaving a red indentation where the straps had been.

"Now...about my rights as a husband," he whispered, positioning himself on top of her. "Open your legs for me. Now."

There was something about Laxus being bossy in bed that drove Lucy crazy, and heart racing, she spread her legs and put them over his shoulders as he moved in to kiss her again. He teased her, barely sliding in, so she whispered, "Are you going to tease me all night or are we going to have sex? Make up your mi—"

Lucy cried out when he entered her and set a quick, rough pace. He had his left hand tangled in her hair and was propped up on his right elbow. Their bodies were tangled, and seemingly at war at first, but for some reason, he was always like this. Laxus was always a conqueror on the first round, especially if he'd gone more than about three days without her.

They steady climbed together, approaching orgasm until he slowed down and started to kiss her a little more softly. He came to a stop, resting inside of her as he pulled back from the kiss.

His wife looked up at him in question.

"You're everything. I love you."

She smiled softly at him. "You're everything to me too. I love you, Laxus."

The dragon slayer rested his forehead against hers, cupping her face with one hand as he started to move nice and slow. He realized that he was a man making love to his wife, to the mother of his unborn child, to his best friend, to his partner in crime, his conversation partner, his inspiration, his frustration, his absolute _everything_.

He took her slow and he made her beg, because he knew she enjoyed it more and because he had to repay her for teasing him.

When he was certain she couldn't take much more, he whispered, "Tell me what you want."

"I want to have your baby," she whispered into his ear.

Laxus sped up as she arched her back, wrapping her body around his instinctively. They had, by this point in their relationship, perfected the wonderful art form of simultaneous release. He waited for the cues her body always gave—the short gasps, the way her thighs would tremble, the way her toes would curl as she dug them into his hips—and brought her over the edge with him.

Before she could catch her breath, he was at it again, having three months worth of 'needing Lucy'

After three rounds of lovemaking, Lucy flopped onto one side of the bed and felt him do the same, both panting. She'd never been with another man, but she believed for some reason that not every guy was so good in bed.

Lucy was thirsty from moaning and hollering his name through round three, and when she started to get up, he pushed her back down. "Not cute, Laxus. I'm done for now, let me go get some water."

"You change moods so fast. Bliss, irritation, murder, affection..." he panted.

When she tried to move again, he said, "Stop that. Just be still. You're going to make them swim against gravity if you stand up."

Her eyes narrowed. "...what..."

"My sperm."

Lucy looked over at him. "...the hell...Laxus..."

He sat up. "I read about it. The average ejaculation is a hundred and eighty million sperm, times three means you have an army of like half a billion trying to take down one enemy."

The blonde sighed deeply. "Till death do us part?"

She slipped out of the bed and watched semen ooze down her thigh. "Oh look, gravity." Lucy wiped her leg with a tissue off the nightstand and threw it away.

She went downstairs and opened the fridge to find a pitcher of ice water. The refrigerator was like she'd left it when she was stocking up on groceries before the wedding, except for a bowl that had foil on it on the shelf where her raw vegetables were.

"What now?" Laxus asked when he came down.

Lucy held up the bowl. "It doesn't go on the same shelf as raw produce!"

His eyebrow twitched. "Okay, Lucy. Where in our refrigerator do human fingers go?"

"They don't."

"Then throw it out. I could care less."

His wife shook her head. "You're going to see Porlyusica first thing in the morning. It is savable, right?"

Laxus shrugged. "I have no idea. You can stop being a chicken and see for yourself."

Lucy peeled the foil back and made a disgusted face. "Are you sure this is your finger and not some raw hamburger meat and a stick?"

"Pretty sure."

He knew she was going to get him for doing it, but Laxus knew the exact moment that had presented itself would never happen again. So he either had to seize the moment or lose it forever. _Consequences be damned, he wanted to see her face._

When Lucy Dreyar saw the detached finger move, she screamed and threw the bowl, shattering it on the floor. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

His laughter could be heard over her scream and Laxus unceremoniously picked his finger up from the floor as she came at him. She tried to slap him on the arm, but he ducked and ran. So she chased him all over the house, both of them naked, but Lucy grabbed her whip as they passed through the living room and he was halfway up the stairs when it wrapped around his ankle.

Lucy pulled and knocked him on his butt on the staircase. "HOW CAN YOU MOVE A FINGER THAT ISN'T EVEN ATTACHED TO YOUR BODY?!"

Her husband grinned. "I have no idea, but I assume its some dragon slayer thing. I think it's pretty interesting."

Lucy retracted her magic whip. "You..."

"Me. Your husband," he pointed at himself.

She returned to the kitchen to get her water, and he cleaned up the broken bowl, put his finger back in the refrigerator, and sat with her at the table, grinning at her irritated expression.

Laxus said, "You're the only woman I can be myself with, you know."

"Have you considered being someone else? You know, maybe someone who doesn't terrorize his wife with mutilated body parts on their wedding night?"

"I am so serious, my darling wife."

Lucy smiled at him. "I don't really know what normal couples act like, but there's something about you that I can't live without."

Laxus rested his head on his hand. "It's _awful_ to be in a 'normal' couple. For me, at least. That's why I could never stay with anyone before you. I don't know if I believe one person is made for another, but I believe no one else in the whole world could be better for me than you."

"You're kind of sweet when you want to be," she gently said.

They stayed up talking in the kitchen completely nude and eventually went to bed and make love until dawn before finally crashing into the marriage bed.

Orange light was spilling into the room, and Lucy snuggled up close to him, using his bicep as a pillow.

She leaned up to kiss him. "I'll be here for you forever, you know."

"Likewise, my beautiful wife," he mumbled as they slipped into sleep together.

It was a beautiful ending to the night for Laxus, but when he was still quite sleepy, she awoke him to go get his finger fixed, and he groaned. "It can wait," he grumbled.

Lucy snatched the covers off. "If you don't get it put back on, I'm going to go feed it to our pet tiger."

"Fine, fine..."

They journeyed to Porlyusica an hour later, who brought in Wendy, and after five tedious hours (during which Laxus saved all his complains for a later time with his wife), the offending appendage was reattached and almost back to normal.

It still looked like hamburger meat to Lucy, and it had a strange twitch.

"...happy?" he asked.

His wife looked up. "Let me just say this now. I don't want that finger inside of me. Ever."

 **Please Review!**

 _Special thanks to animeislife24, gaia kame, kurahieiritr JIO, kamila-chan, Ladyallyssa, Auroraleona, katiekat2001, siddjr100, fairyfan8, killer-kelly420, jozanimelover, adabs 18, aoutre,and Miss Dany for reviewing!_


	13. The Pregnancy

After their honeymoon, they got into a colossal fight.

Lucy was eager to go on a job, and Laxus forbade her from going on missions on the grounds that when she did get pregnant, she was going to be weak and she might not even know it. The resolution was not neat and he really just took a job and left, giving her a 'whatever.'

It was by far the worst disagreement they'd had.

Lucy found herself at a crossroads, where she could take the 'whatever' as it was and do what she wanted, or she could acquiesce to her husband's wishes. They had been married for sixteen days and they were many miles apart and pissed off.

She was sitting at home by herself on her bed as she read a book, angry at him, and mired in indecision. When she explained herself to Plue, Plue seemed to be telling her off. "Pun! Pun! Pun!"

With a wave of her key, she sent the celestial spirit back. "Whatever. Of course you're on Laxus' side. You've never humped my leg."

Her bedroom window opened and Natsu looked around. "He's gone, right?"

The blonde laughed. "Yeah, he's on a job, but you better be careful, sneaking into our bedroom. Laxus will take it way too seriously because he's an insufferable blowhard."

Natsu jumped down. "So are you going on our job or not?"

"I don't know. Stupid Laxus just wants me to stay at home," she answered.

The dragon slayer was confused by this. "Why? Laxus never stops you from doing what you want as long as you keep him happy."

Lucy felt like this was going to end with Natsu taking Laxus' side because they actually had a lot in common. "Go home, Natsu."

Her team leader didn't move, so she decided to leave him, and she was halfway down the stairs when she suddenly became so dizzy and weak she grabbed the rail. "Natsu!"

Unfortunately for Natsu, just as he grabbed her, she vomited on his feet.

All he did was blink in confusion. Lucy Dreyar...dignified, gorgeous wife of a dragon slayer and powerful celestial wizard...was barfing on his feet. He was disgusted at first, and then very worried. "Lucy! H-Hey, what's the matter with you?"

She crumbled into his arms and fainted.

Natsu washed his feet off in the kitchen sink, glad she was still not conscious because she would have taken issue, and rushed his friend to Porlyusica. He banged on the old woman's door, blonde in hand.

"I know you're in there, old hag!"

The door swung open and she glared angrily at Natsu. "WHAT."

Natsu held up Lucy. "Something's wrong..."

The old woman let him come in. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I broke into her house and pissed her off, and when she was trying to get away, she threw up and passed out," he explained.

Porlyusica shook her head. "I'm not even going to comment on all the things in that explanation that are idiotic. Put her on the bed. Have you noticed any other issues lately? Symptoms of illness, changes in mood? Has she been acting strangely?"

Natsu answered, "Lucy always acts weird."

"You are useless."

He frowned. "I'm sorry, I'm just really worried. Can't you help her? Please..."

The old woman caved in under the weight of his concerned, wide-eyed stare. "I think I know why she's weak, but I need you to step outside for a minute."

Natsu obeyed dutifully because he believed she'd make good on her long-standing threat to turn him into a toad if he was uncooperative.

Just inside, Lucy woke up in Porlyusica's house to the feeling of fingers. _Fingers_ , and they weren't her husband's either. "EEEEEEEEEEK!" When she looked down and saw Porlyusica between her legs, she remembered throwing up and passing out. "Oh. It's you. I think...I think I'm okay with this. Kinda weird, but okay. Unprofessional and unexpected, but okay."

"What kind of contraceptives do you and your husband use?" the woman asked.

Lucy propped herself up on her hands. "None right now. We've been...you know. We decided we wanted to have a baby."

Porlyusica asked, "Him? Laxus Dreyar wants to have a baby? You're kidding me."

The blonde shivered when a piece of cold metal made contact with her. "C-Cold..."

"Get used to it, hell has frozen over. We're all going to die," she said in her characteristic deadpan.

The woman sat back sat up and her expression softened.

"Well?" Lucy asked.

Porlyusica smiled at her warmly, and then uttered, "It's a shame I hate humans so much, because you two made one. You probably conceived about two weeks ago."

Lucy filled out a calendar with her cycle. "According to this...I got pregnant on my wedding night. That is _so_ typical of him! We decided we'd try to have a baby and he goes and does it the first time!"

The old healer was somewhat unamused by this rant. "Your baby will be born on or around August 13th. Now, let's talk about this creature he put in you."

Half an hour later, Lucy emerged from the hut. Natsu was sitting under a tree with his legs crossed, looking somewhat impatient. "Hey."

Natsu worriedly asked, "Oy, what's the matter with you?"

Lucy smiled a little. "I'm pregnant."

"Wh-Whoa..." His eyes were wide. "That's why you're sick?"

"Laxus has passed on some of his inhuman side. The baby is sucking up my magic power to grow."

"Piggyback ride?" Natsu carried her home on his back with a big grin. "You have a little baby in you? That's so cool! Lisanna wants one. I ummm...I told her Happy is our baby."

Lucy laughed as she hung over his shoulder. "Scared?"

"Hell yes. I am man enough to admit it. But you're going to be such a good mom. I hope the baby looks like you, and not lightning breath." Suddenly, he stopped. "What if your baby looks like Ivan?"

Lucy pinched his ear. "That's not going to happen!"

Now, she was imagining a little girl with a bluish purple beard calling her dolls, "my dear, sweet dollies!" It was unacceptable, and she cringed inwardly so hard she felt another wave of nausea come.

Natsu asked, "It's none of my fucking business, but you guys had a fight right? He really fucked up Kardia Cathedral on his way out of town. Why would you guys fight and you just got married?"

Considering the current situation, she felt like a bitch almighty for the whole debacle. Laxus was the boorish one in their relationship, the one who did stupid things for no reason and then felt sorry afterward. And she was supposed to be the one with sense. "Laxus didn't want me to go on any jobs while we were trying to get pregnant because he was worried I'd be sick or weak in the field."

"Laxus is your guy, so of course he feels that way. What if all this happened when you were in battle?"

"...I hate being wrong. I don't want to apologize, either."

Natsu shrugged, because first and foremost, it really wasn't his concern. Laxus and Lucy were ten shades of crazy to him, and he believed they'd probably just yell at each other, have sex, and move on with their lives. One thing he knew was that they were seriously in love with one another, and they were happy together.

When he got Lucy back home, they ate, played Castille, and when Happy caught up with them with a fish, eventually Gray and Erza joined them. They had an old school Team Natsu sleepover, although only Natsu knew her secret.

Laxus got home at four o'clock in the morning to find his house full. Happy was curled up with the tiger, Gray was sleeping _buck naked_ on the sofa, Juvia was a slightly drunk, and somewhat puddly mess on the carpet, Loke was somehow slung across the coffee table in a drunken stupor, and Virgo was washing a mountain of dishes in the kitchen.

The only one missing...

 _I swear if he's in the bed I will fry him..._

And he was.

Natsu was sound asleep on Laxus' side of the bed, and Lucy was sleeping happily on the other side of the bed. Had he not known how platonic this relationship was, he would have lost his mind, but knowing they had as much sexual chemistry as two rusty bolts in a nut cup just left him annoyed.

"Natsu."

He sat up and immediately felt fear. "Oh, hey Laxus."

Eyebrow twitching commenced, and Laxus asked, "Can I ask why you're in bed with my wife?"

"She was sick and we all came over to take care of her," he said, face glimmering with innocence and positive intent.

"It really looks like you came over to wreck my house, eat my food, drink all my booze, and pass out all over the place," he hissed.

Natsu argued, "Your house is the best! How could we come over and not have a good time?"

"All of you...get out. _**NOW**_."

Electricity coursed through the entire downstairs, and the occupants awoke to the feeling of Laxus' lightning, which politely informed them that the party was over and while they didn't have to go home, they certainly couldn't sleep at the Dreyar house.

Lucy was still sound asleep, so he removed the offending guests except for Loke, who he ordered to clean up the mess with Virgo or go home.

"Lucy is my master. Only she can force my gate to close," he argued.

Laxus narrowed his eyes. "What happens if you were get struck by lightning?"

"Bye." Loke waved and vanished.

Laxus went back upstairs, still pissed off at his wife. God, she was so stubborn, so difficult, and so dramatic. All they'd done for a whole day before he left is fight, and then he'd ripped a job off the board and vanished. He was mad, and he was sure that she still was.

Natsu had mentioned something about her being sick, so he showered and quietly got into the bed. He stayed on his side and didn't snuggle her as always, and it felt weird to him. But, he didn't want to sleep away from her, and he knew when she woke up they'd be at it again.

He hadn't been in the bed more than ten minutes when she rolled into him and subconsciously took her normal place, tangling with his body. It really was too cute, and he kissed her forehead. "Lucy."

When she opened her eyes, she saw him. "Laxus, you're home. How was your job?"

"It was good. Look, I'm an asshole, and I'm sorry. Let's not fight anymore. I can't stand it," he whispered.

Lucy kissed him. "I'm sorry too. It's a pointless fight now. Let's talk tomorrow."

The next morning, she woke up feeling a little weak but otherwise okay. He left a note that he'd been called to the guild, and she sulked at it as she ate the breakfast he'd left her.

When he came home, she met him at the door.

Laxus watched her staring at him a little shyly. "Little girl, what's the matter?"

She looked up and smiled softly. "You were right. If I'd gone on a mission and I had gotten sick and fainted like I did yesterday, I might have gotten hurt or put my team in jeopardy."

"You were sick? Natsu said something about that. Are you all right now?" he asked with a voice heavy with concern.

Lucy touched her belly and spoke with wonder. "I'm pregnant."

Laxus' expression practically melted, first into shock, and then into a grin. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Porlyusica confirmed it."

Lucy was sure his smile couldn't get any bigger as he approached her. The first two steps were slow, and then suddenly, his hands were on her face as he gave her an excited, sweet kiss.

"You're gonna have my baby?" he asked excitedly.

His wife let out a sound that was half giggle, half squeal. "Yes!"

Her husband held her tight for quite a while, and then slid down to kneel in front of her. With a careful hand, he lifted her shirt and planted a kiss just below her navel. "Hey you. I'm your dad, okay? You mom and I are going to take good care of you." Laxus felt her fingertips in his hair as he continued, "I know it's nice inside of your mom, but you better be good. She's pregnant, we expect certain things, but don't give your mom shit while you're in there or I'll give you shit when you get out."

Lucy laughed at him. "You're so ridiculous."

When he looked up at her from her stomach, he was grinning happily and practically beaming. "You forget whose kid you're carrying."

And then, he sat back on his knees. "Can we still have sex? I don't know that I thought this through all the way."

She laughed and nodded. "Of course."

"I won't like...poke the kid in the head or something?"

This was the kind of question she might expect from Natsu, but not her husband. She stared at him in sheer wonder at the idiocy that had come out of his mouth. "I sometimes wonder..is it a dragon slayer thing? But Wendy seems normal."

"What?"

"Being like...really smart and then having this streak of pure stupidity. You have it. Gajeel has it. Natsu has it in spades," she thought out loud.

Laxus feigned offense. "Excuse me for being concerned about our unborn son."

"Son? Since when?"

Laxus threw her over his shoulder. "A girl has not been born into the Dreyar family for two centuries. I hope you're ready to have a whole bunch of little boys. If you have a baby every other year until you're forty, you can have ten."

"You're being really uncute right now."

Her husband carried her upstairs and gently laid her on the bed, and then pulled his shirt over his head. "Can you imagine our guild with ten little Dreyars?"

Lucy mumbled something under her breath about 'getting snipped' and remembered what she'd needed to tell him. "Oh, Porlyusica said our baby isn't really human."

Perplexed by this comment, he looked down at her. "Dragon slayers are questionably human _at best_. Did you expect our baby to be an ordinary human?"

"Actually, no. I really didn't. I think I knew all along."

"Monsters make monsters."

She sighed and took her shirt off when he froze and looked down as if his good mood had been ruined. "What now?"

Her husband said, "It's like the baby is watching us."

"No, the baby is not watching us. The baby first of all probably doesn't have eyes that work and is only the size of a lima bean, and second, is suspended in pitch darkness. You're just being weird," she answered.

As soon as he thought about it, her reasoning made excellent sense and just flopped down gently beside her and held one hand over her stomach while they kissed. Knowing she was pregnant, he exercised moderately better manners while he made love to her.

When they finished, Laxus rested his head on her stomach and she scratched his head, which caused him to all but purr in delight. "I wonder when it happened. It's only been a couple of weeks."

"It was our wedding night. I was honestly kind of appalled. Trying to have a baby is a process, you know. We're supposed to _try."_

He looked up at her. "Since when do I _try_ to do anything? If I decide I want to do something, I make it fucking happen. I don't play games and I don't know what 'trying' is. It really shouldn't be much of a surprise."

This was Laxus Dreyar, after all.

And the more she thought about it, the more she knew his reasoning made sense. Her husband possessed a deadly sense of resolve and he did not follow the same rules and laws that others did. He could stay alive with half of his guts melted, turn his whole body to lightning, and treated gravity like an enemy to be disregarded. Overall, his existence and attitude were a big 'fuck you' to science as a whole.

Lucy could tell he was quite pleased with himself for hitting the ball out of the park on his first swing.

They stayed in the bed for a long time, snuggling and talking about the baby and all that had happened while he was on his job.

"...and then I was on the stairs and I puked on Natsu. He seemed pretty grossed out but he was cool. Probably because he's thrown up on me too..."

Laxus sat up in the bed and glanced down at her in question. "You guys have the weirdest fucking relationship. Just for the record, I'm not into that. You puke on me while we're making love and we're going to have a very serious talk."

Lucy rolled her eyes at her husband. "I'm pregnant and he gets motion sick _just like you_. So we're a pukey bunch of wizards."

"This conversation is irksome," Laxus commented, now imagining all three of them throwing up on a boat. "Let's talk about something else, like the fact that you are pregnant with my child."

"I still can't believe I'm going to have a baby. Like, right now, your baby is inside of me, growing. We made a baby," she whispered.

The wide-as-hell grin returned to his face. "Knocked you up, huh?"

When the pillow impacted his head, he laughed. "It's true. It's not surprising though. I knew you were fertile that night. It was making me fucking crazy, I feel like every cell in my entire body wanted to impregnate you, including the ones I sent on the mission."

"Oh, I thought we were done having conversations about your semen."

"Never. One of those brave souls accomplished the ultimate goal and assailed the enemy successfully. He'll live on forever, as my son."

Lucy walloped him with the pillow again. "God, you're awful."

"And you're pregnant with my baby."

 _ **Please Review!**_

Special thanks to Misty Shayna, Mewhee69, Ashatan87, killer-kelly420, guest, jozanimelover, adabs18, yumeyumi1986, katekat2001, sidjr100, aoutre, archangel649, kurahieiritr JIO, gaia kame, kamila-chan, and miss dany for reviewing!


	14. The Doorbell

It was her fourth month of pregnancy.

She'd been unnaturally hot the night before and had fallen asleep on top of the covers only to wake up to the feeling of her husband moving one of her legs so he could lay between them. Until she sat up, all she could see was his extremely disheveled hair and stormy blue eyes that peered at her over her baby bump.

Laxus had come in from a job the night before to find she was actually _showing_ now.

Lucy squirmed and sat up. "Let me go jump in the shower first."

Her husband sat up and crossed his legs. "Can we talk about this?"

"About what?"

"You won't ever let me go down on you unless you've showered within the past hour."

Lucy pulled her legs together. "What's wrong with that? It's about being fresh and clean. I thought you'd appreciate that. You have a sensitive nose."

He blinked.

"...what?"

Laxus narrowed his eyes a little. "I need you to stop being self-conscious about it. We're married." He parted her legs with his hands and kissed down one thigh to her center, and then _sniffed_. "I really prefer it not smell like flowers. That's weird."

"What you're doing is weird. Could you stop sniffing me you big creep?!"

Laxus lightly grazed her labia with his fangs, and she shivered. "Your scent has changed since you got pregnant. You smell sweeter."

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "If you don't stop sniffing my crotch like a dog, I'm going to ban you from there!"

There were times that Laxus could make her feel combinations of things that didn't normally go together. At the moment, she was grateful she had a husband that was so relaxed and accepting and wanted her to feel comfortable, but she was also weirded out he was sniffing her and annoyed that he was amused by the fact she was weirded out.

All in all, it was a normal morning for them.

She forgot what she was thinking about when he got down to business and she spent much of the next hour writhing under the sweet torture of his lips and tongue. Since she'd never had another man, she had nothing to compare him to, but as far as she was concerned, he was amazing at this, but he could never do it without needing to finish it with a round of sex. Depending on how long he lingered there determined what kind of sex it was going to be, so when he shifted to seal the deal, she knew it was going to be an invigorating romp.

Laxus sat with his back against the headboard and pulled her onto his lap facing away from him. He guided his hardened cock into her and started to thrust up into her his hands roaming over her body while he sucked on her neck.

His hips jerked up into her roughly when he put his hands on her pregnant belly. The fact that she was pregnant with his baby was such a huge turn on to him he almost couldn't stand it. This worked out because her hormones had her crawling on top of him at hours of the night.

Lucy had been so horny that Laxus had managed to get her having sex in inopportune places and inappropriate times again. She really had tried to cure him of that, but now, she was as bad as he was.

His big hands followed the changing curves of her body and a growl rumbled from his chest as she twisted so he could kiss her. Tongues tangled, a hint of morning breath on them still and they didn't care at all."Harder, Laxus!"

His toes curled a little and he gently put her on her back and pushed her legs up so he could drive into her deep and hard, just the way she liked.

Their doorbell rang, and he became still for a few seconds. "Fuck."

"Hurry and finish!"

It rang again.

His eyebrows rose and he laughed and kissed her. "Not without my wife."

She felt his hand slide down between her legs and he rubbed her clit as he fucked her quick and hard. Like this, she was helpless, and she closed her eyes and arched her back as her thighs started to tremble and her breathing became more ragged.

"That's it...c'mon, Lucy..."

The doorbell rang again.

"Laxus, I'm coming!"

And again.

He came with her, pumping cum into her with a few powerful thrusts that were followed by a few of decreasing strength.

He barely wiped off with a tissue and put his robe on as the doorbell rang again.

Laxus decided he was going to cut off whatever finger was poking the little white button, but then noted that he should remember not to keep his trophy in the refrigerator as his wife had banned human body parts.

When he opened the door, Gajeel was on the other side.

Laxus narrowed his eyes. "WHAT."

"Sheesh, someone woke up on the wrong side of the..." Gajeel's nose crinkled, "Dude! Did I interrupt something?"

"You came to my house, and interrupted my morning. Who the fuck over the age of six rings a doorbell _eleven_ times in three goddamned minutes?" Laxus growled.

Gajeel shrugged. "You didn't have to answer."

Laxus decided he would be petty, and go to Gajeel's apartment when he knew he was hitting it and ring the doorbell at least a hundred times. Just because. It was either that or kick his ass, but his body was still rubbery from orgasm.

"Did you want something or did you show up at six in the morning to bother the shit out of me? Because if you want me to kick your ass, you can just ask. I'll oblige."

Gajeel smirked. "Let's go on a job."

Laxus slammed the door. "Goddamned idiot," he mumbled.

The doorbell rang again. And again. And again.

Since Makarov had personally asked him to stop beating up guild members, he really tried to ignore Gajeel. Laxus had seen the S-class request to kill some kind of metal demon, but Gajeel needed an s-class wizard to take it, which left him, Gildarts, Mirajane, and Erza.

Lucy came downstairs with her keys in hand. "I've had enough!"

Suddenly, there was a peculiar looking character in the living room. Laxus hadn't met Taurus yet, mostly because he was only for combat use. Laxus would later describe Taurus as 'a perverted he-cow in a speedo,' although this was incorrect as Taurus was, in fact, a bull.

"Taurus, get whoever is doing that!"

Taurus swooned so hard he flailed. "Lady Luuuuuucy! You wanna be my mooooooommy? Give me some of your milk with your hot body?!"

Lucy pointed to the door. "Taurus."

The spirit left and suddenly, there was a bull chasing Gajeel around their front yard with an ax at six in the morning.

Laxus sat on the couch and asked, "Babe, I have a serious question."

"What is it, honey?"

Her husband met her eyes. "Do you have any celestial spirits that aren't perverts?"

"Let me think..."

"The fact you have to think about it speaks volumes."

His wife sat on his lap. "Oh, Gemini! The twins!

When she summoned Gemini, they transformed into a very naked Lucy and sat on the other side of Laxus' lap. "Twins!" they repeated.

Laxus crossed his arms and looked at two Lucy's on his lap. "I can't decide if this is weird or hot," he commented. "Maybe both?"

Lucy forced the gate closed. "Well, you'll never see that one again. I can't summon anymore because of the baby, but I'll show you! Plue is..."

"If Plue was a human, he'd be a registered sex offender."

She remembered their meeting and shrugged. "Whatever. There's Aries. And Sagittarius! Old man Crux! And Lyra!"

Her husband gave her a rather amused grin. "Aren't celestial spirits influenced by their masters? Maybe they get their kinky from you."

Gajeel came stumbling toward the window, and because Laxus didn't want to bother with the mess, he decided to end the melee outside. Lightning struck Gajeel, who passed out on the lawn.

"Don't be so rough," she warned.

Laxus shrugged. "He should know better than to come over here and bother me. I'm lightning, and his skeleton is made from metal. That's _obviously_ a terrible idea."

Lucy gave him a kiss. "Laxus, nobody expects dragon slayers to be smart."

He came in for another kiss. "I don't have to be smart. I have you for that."

They stayed in most of the day, because the pregnancy had her tired, and he was tired from his job. Most of the day was spent snuggling in the bed with Raijin stretched out across the end of the bed.

She shook him while he was in a state of deep sleep. "Hey."

"Hey," he answered, "What's going on?"

Lucy was sitting up in the bed rubbing her tummy. "I think I'm having a craving? I don't know. I've never felt this way before. I feel like I'm going to die if I don't have mint chocolate chip ice cream. And an avocado."

Laxus laughed and slid out of the bed. "You're not going to eat them together, are you?"

"I don't know yet."

When he started to dress, she asked, "Where are you going?"

"To go get some mint chocolate chip ice cream and an avocado for my pregnant wife," he answered. "You want anything else?"

When he left, he found Gajeel was still laid out in the front yard. He wasn't dead, so Laxus was confused but when he approached the dragon slayer, he saw he was actually awake with his hands behind his head. It was a beautiful day and he was just having a relaxing time under a nice, shady tree.

Laxus had no problem with him having a chill day, but he certainly wasn't going to have it in his front yard. "Why are you still here?"

"The grass is so thick and soft. The tree is shady. It's a sweet spot."

The elder grabbed him by the collar and dragged him past the gate, dropping him on the hot sidewalk.

Gajeel sighed and stood up. "So when are we going to go on that job? I know you're going to do it."

"That job might take two months. No chance I'm going to take it and Lucy is pregnant."

Gajeel said, "Didn't you notice the reward?"

Laxus knew when he heard what the reward was that his fate was sealed. There was no way he could pass up the reward, and he knew it.

"Fine. Next week. Let me spend a week with my wife. And don't you ever touch my doorbell again, you dipshit."

He went on to the store and was distraught to find that there were no avocados. 'Maybe at the South Gate Market' someone said, so he took lightning form and went there only to find no avocados there either. He went to all six markets in Magnolia and couldn't find a single avocado because they were out of season.

Laxus had to use lightning form and go two towns over to find avocados, which he stole from a commercial greenhouse, and by then, the ice cream had melted, so he had to buy more. He picked up some flowers, and headed home and found her cooking in the kitchen.

She was pan searing a huge steak in a big pan and had a baked potato and some fresh lemonade for him when he returned home. As for her, she didn't give a damn about anything except satisfying her craving, so while he tore into the meal she prepared him, she sat down with the gift he'd brought her.

He watched his wife fill a huge bowl with ice cream, and then take an avocado, cut it up, and drop the chunks in the ice cream. She smashed and stirred furiously, sprinkled it with chili powder, and took the first bite.

Lucy let out a moan that was practically orgasmic. "Mmmmmmm...how did you get avocados this time of year?"

"I stole them from the greenhouse in Clover," he answered, mouth full of steak.

"Laxus! You're a candidate for saint wizard. You can't get caught stealing fruit!"

Her husband seemed confused. "Avocado is fruit? It's not sweet, so I feel like it should be a vegetable."

"That's what you're worried about?!"

He smiled at her. "I'm just a man and I love my wife. Besides, it's a matter of public record I tried to blow up Magnolia. Do you think they'll be in their meeting discussing my sins and someone's going to say 'on top of trying to blow up a city, he also stole six avocados.' And they'll be like 'that's the last straw. We can condone the violence, but he went to far with the avocados.'"

Lucy lost interest in everything he had to say when he started talking nonsense and took another bite of her concoction and moaned again. "This is dreamy. You want to try?"

Laxus was a little curious, so she loaded up her spoon and lifted it to his lips. He took the bite she offered and found it was just as gross as he'd imagined. "Don't ever talk about spam and banana sandwiches again after this moment."

"I'm pregnant, what's your excuse?"

He smiled in adoration. "Excellent taste, in sandwiches and women."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to leenadavinci, DragonQ, Guest, kurahieiritr JIO, Numinous-Alqua, Zoe, sidjr100, adabs18, killer-kelly420, edolevy, mewhee89, aoutre, misty shayna, helenezahl, gaia kame, darkfae7, katelyn, ladyallyssa, yumeyumi1986, mwolfe13, arouraleona, and miss dany for reviewing!**_


	15. The Key

Laxus' job with Gajeel got off to a fantastic start. And by 'fantastic,' one can assume everything went wrong.

They got into a fist fight, their ship sank (which was unrelated, surprisingly enough), they had to swim ten miles to shore, and then once they got ashore to the island, they were attacked by assorted monsters.

He wondered how he'd gotten himself into this mess, and why he was in it with Gajeel of all people. Generally speaking, alpha males did not mix, and certainly not alone with no underlings. Gajeel had a serious problem accepting Laxus' leadership, and Laxus certainly wasn't going to take orders from him.

Finally, on the second week of their journey, Laxus beat him into the ground and promised him once they finished the job that he never wanted to see Gajeel's face again. They ended up camped on opposite sides of the island.

Their job was to eradicate all monsters from an island. What the job posted did not mention was that the island was huge, and some of the monsters were on the level of being s-class themselves. Every day was a pretty constant shade of 'ouch' and after waking up, Laxus would go to the killing fields and destroy enemies.

All in all? Worst job ever, and he wished he'd taken the Raijinshuu.

To make matters worse, he missed his wife. It wasn't some shallow notice of absence, either. In his spirit, he longed to be back home, to hear her voice, to rub her belly, to make love, and even to have an argument. If he could just hear her yell at him, he'd be happy.

It wore him down, and the job took three months.

Lucy cried when he finally came home.

She cried because he'd been gone for three months, because she was worried he'd never come home, because she was mad at him for taking a job like that, because she was happy to see him, but mostly, she just cried because she was seven months pregnant and that's how she woke up feeling on this unassuming June day.

One of the conditions of their relationship is that they accepted the complications of wizarding life. She had her team and her jobs, and he had his. Lucy tried so hard not to question his reasoning—why had he done it?! She knew there were plenty of other jobs. A part of her was angry he'd left her alone for so long, but the joke was on him because Team Natsu had practically lived in their house while he was gone. Laxus didn't like them being in the house, but as soon as he left, they all came over.

But when he pulled her into his arms, none of it mattered. Lucy was just glad they were together.

Laxus sank to his knees and pulled her shirt over her belly. "Lucy, you're _huge_. Everything's okay with the baby?"

His wife ruffled his hair. "Everything is perfect."

He wanted to grab her and swing her all over the room kissing her, but her body had very strange proportions and he didn't want to hurt her, so he laid half a dozen kisses on her belly and then stood and kissed her lips. "I love you so much, my little minx. The mother of my unborn child."

"I love you too, and I just need you to blame the pregnancy for this."

Laxus looked at her blankly, and she pushed him against the wall by his shirt and pulled him down to kiss her. She grabbed his shirt and pulled with seemingly superhuman strength and the buttons went flying everywhere.

Lucy's hormones had kept her in a state of sexual frustration the likes of which only he could have helped. Really, after being with a man who really knew how to touch her, masturbation could only do so much. Her body had more or less gotten so used to how Laxus handled her that whenever they were apart, she practically ached for him.

It was always such a big turn-on when she was the aggressor, but he could never leave her in control for long. Clothes went flying as he considered how on earth they were going to have sex with her belly so enormous.

"I need you inside of me," she begged.

Laxus thought about bending her over the couch, but Lucy's legs turned to Jello during sex so any position where she had to support her own weight was out. "How are we going to..." she grabbed him through his pants and gave him a good squeeze. "shit..."

He threw a throw blanket off the couch onto the floor, and then swept all the pillows into the floor as she pulled his pants off. "Doggy style?" he asked as he tore the last of her clothes off.

His wife sank to the floor and bent over, and he worked his way into her slowly since she was pregnant and they'd been apart for a while. The first time was quick and fast, and the second time was long and sweet, and this went on until Lucy's pregnancy hormones had sapped every ounce of energy out of him. Her pregnancy sex drive was like an insatiable force to him, and for the first time in his life, a woman's stamina outlasted his.

Laxus still had fingers, albeit only nine of them since one was disqualified from 'the inside.'

When she'd finally had enough, he flopped onto the pillows. "You monster...I love you."

"I've needed that."

"Same here. The longer we're together, the more it annoys the fuck out of me to be away from you. I miss everything. I missed you yelling at me," he confessed.

Lucy smiled softly as she rolled onto her side. "I missed you annoying me. Also, your cock. Missed that a lot. Pregnancy is crazy. I ate pickles with mayonnaise and hot sauce for breakfast. I feel like my hormones have hormones."

"I see."

Laxus coaxed her upstairs to go to bed since the floor was obviously a terrible place for a pregnant woman to lay. They snuggled up in the bed, and he rubbed her belly while he kissed her for quite a while. "So, now that we have your hormones out of the way, how's my girl?"

"Good. Really excited. We're having a baby," she whispered.

Laxus felt something move under his hand and he looked down just in time to see her entire belly move. It was misshapen for a few seconds, sticking out oddly in one way, and then it became round. "...what is in there, an alien?! Did you have a tentacle experience I don't know about?"

His wife slapped his chest lightly. "The baby doesn't just kick. He likes to change positions and poke my bladder. Our son takes after you, I guess," she teased.

For a second, he missed it, but then the sentence looped back in his mind. "...our son? You know for sure?"

His wife nodded and kissed his forehead. "We're going to have a little boy."

Laxus gave her a huge grin. "You're amazing. You're carrying my son, and soon he's going to be here. It's exciting. I have a gift for you too."

Lucy watched as he left the bed, went downstairs, and came back with a little wrapped box.

Since he always spoiled her with gifts, she expected it to be a necklace or bracelet, but as she pulled the ribbon off, she felt a familiar magic emanating from the box. Lucy took the lid off the box, and ripped the Aquarius key from it, throwing her arms around Laxus as she broke down into sobs.

"Thank you...thank you...thank you!" she cried.

Laxus squeezed her gently. "Anything for the mother of my unborn son. Don't think I don't mean that. I'll do anything for you."

Lucy had been angry, sad, and upset with him for taking such a long mission, but as soon as she saw the key, she knew he had done it all for her. If anyone else had completed the mission and made a contract with Aquarius, she might never be reunited with her.

"You don't know how much this means! Aquarius was my first key, and she was my friend. And I...I had to give her up," she bawled.

Her husband kissed her. "You're all hormones, Lucy."

"I know!" she cried as she smiled.

She got out of the bed excitedly and dressed. "I'm going down to the lake to summon her."

"Can't you just summon her from the sink or something?"

Lucy shook her head. "Only if you want her to destroy our house. Umm...can I be alone?"

"Fine, but don't be too long, or I'll come steal you back."

Laxus didn't move from the bed, and Lucy made her way down to the water, bent down, and touched the key to the water.

"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!"

Her long-lost friend appeared.

Aquarius smiled at her. "You found my key after all, huh?" The mermaid froze and looked down. "You're with child?! Since when?"

"I'm seven months along."

Aquarius looked down at her. "I'd sweep you to the other side of the lake for good old time's sake, but I'll take a rain check until you have that baby."

Lucy was so happy to have Aquarius back. "Thanks, I think. I missed you."

"Whatever. I guess I'm glad my key is back with you."

"About our contract," she said.

Aquarius held her jar in hand. "Call me whenever. You know what happens when you do. Nothing is changing there. Don't call me until you have that baby unless you can help it. I take too much of your magic. But if you get in trouble and need my help before then..."

She met Lucy's eyes. "Summon me from your spit if you have to. Just call."

"I understand."

The mermaid gave her a mischievous glance. "So you of all people got pregnant? How did that happen? Last time I saw you, you wouldn't have known what to do with a man."

"Y-Yeah. It's funny how it happened. I never saw it coming. I'd known him for a long time, and he asked me on a date. We fell in love somehow. His name is Laxus. He's pretty awesome. We got married seven months ago, and this happened," she said, rubbing her belly.

Aquarius looked upstairs. "A week ago, an extremely powerful wizard took possession of my key. No one that powerful has ever even touched my key. How did you get it?"

Lucy furrowed her brows in confusion, but then realized Aquarius was talking about her husband. "Oh, that's just Laxus. He's a monster."

"You have no idea. You scored a big player? Is he a dirty old man?" the spirit answered.

"I'll have you know he's twenty-five and he is _hot_."

Aquarius shrugged. "I doubt it. I still find it hard to believe you found a man, much less one that's good looking!"

Lucy decided to put the matter to rest. "LAXUS!"

Hearing her shriek, he appeared at her side in an instant from lightning form, materializing in nothing but his maroon pants. "Are you all right?" he asked, voice dripping in concern.

His wife pointed to him as she spoke to Aquarius. "He's tall, muscled, ruggedly handsome, tattooed, his hair is thick, his hands are huge, he has the most handsome chiseled face, and there is no man alive who has more gorgeous eyes. Tell me he's not hot."

Aquarius laughed.

Laxus felt _very awkward_. His wife had invited her spirit to ogle him, and she did.

"So you're the clown that knocked up my master, eh?" she asked in amusement. "You better be on your best behavior. I can open my own gate if you need a lesson on how to treat a lady. Being pretty won't save you from me, you got that?"

"Understood," Laxus answered, wondering if it was really wise to reunite these two women. "Did you need me, or was I just here to look pretty?"

Aquarius waved him off. "We're done with you. Run along, little boy."

Laxus gave her a murderous glare. "I don't think I like you very much."

"It's mutual," the mermaid replied, "Pretty boy."

"Bitch."

Lucy froze in horror when the word left her husband's lips. Who in the world had the nerve to tell _Aquarius_ of all people that? Laxus had an undeniably filthy mouth, but this word was a little rarer in his vocabulary. It was like a card he played only on special occasions.

Aquarius seemed even more amused by this, and the next thing anyone knew, Laxus was in the water and couldn't shock Aquarius because there were other people in the water not far from them. She sucked him up in a vortex and sent him to the bottom of the lake, and while he was swimming up, she turned to Lucy. "I like him for you. He's a complete idiot, but he is nice to look at. See you 'round, Mama."

She winked, waved, and closed her gate, disappearing just as he erupted to the surface ready to kick her mermaid tail into oblivion.

Laxus went inside and sulked at his wife as he went to shower. He heard her come in and pee, and peeked out from behind the curtain. "When I pee and you're in the shower, you tell me I'm gross."

"Yeah, well, tell your son to get off my bladder and we'll all be happy. Hurry up and get out. I have to get ready to go."

"Go where?" he answered through the shower curtain.

"A childbirth class. I keep telling them the father of my baby is out of town. I feel like they've decided this is a bastard child. I'd really like it if you came with me."

Laxus thought about it for maybe two seconds. "Why? I kind of already did my part."

"It's so you can support me, obviously, sperm donor."

"Don't you just have to push the little guy out? It doesn't seem complicated."

Lucy pulled the curtain open. "Not complicated?"

He knew from her face and the tone of her voice that the conversation could only go downward. "Let me get my foot out of my mouth and get dressed."

After she showered and got ready, they walked two blocks to a storefront, and when he opened the door for his wife, they entered a room that smelled like cantaloupes that was covered in mats. And pregnant couples. Laxus didn't want to have anything to do with this place, but Lucy wanted him there.

He'd rather be killing monsters or at the dentist. Or having monsters drill his mouth or killing dentists. However it went, he'd rather be doing it.

She put her hand in his and squeezed. "I really appreciate this."

He overheard some gossipy women in one corner mention Lucy, and he determined they'd apparently given her some kind of hard time about being by herself. It made him feel bad for being gone for so long.

The other couples sat on the mats, and Laxus followed suit, sitting like the others with his legs parted so Lucy could sit in between his them and lean her back on his chest. "This feels weirdly intimate and I feel strange sitting like this in front of other people," he whispered in her ear.

"Laxus, you like to have sex in public places, so that's a ridiculous complaint," she quietly whispered back.

He wrapped himself around her once he got over the weirdness and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Those women are the ones that hurt your feelings?"

"I didn't say my feelings were hurt. That would be childish," she quietly hissed.

Laxus said, "It's fine to be upset. I'm sorry for leaving for so long."

Lucy craned her neck and they shared a quick kiss. "I'm glad you're here."

The instructor came in and turned out the lights and announced they were going to watch a film lacrima for class that night. Laxus knew as soon as that announcement was made that he was going to regret his presence there, and he wondered how much trouble he'd get in if he escaped.

Then he realized that this was all about to unfold in their lives when their son was born, so he decided to be still.

Had he been there for the first four classes, he might have known what more of the words meant, but he was not, and the book his grandfather had given him remained unread.

The film spared no detail, and Lucy felt him breathing hard against her back as if in panic. His fingertips dug into her stomach a little in horror and she put her hands over his and twisted to find him quite horrified.

So they watched a film of a woman screaming while she tried to push a baby out of her very hairy vagina. After quite a while, the doctor performed an episiotomy (which was a new and horrifying word for Laxus), and the woman continued her struggle.

The baby was crowning when Laxus leaned over and whispered, "Lucy, what have we done?!"

When the baby came out, Laxus relaxed a little until the placenta emerged.

When the film ended, the instructor turned the lights on and told them he'd see them next week, to which Laxus mentally replied, 'The hell you will,' although he suspected that he would be there, probably feeling just as awkward and horrified.

As soon as they were out the door, Lucy burst out laughing and kept giggling like she'd never heard such a funny joke in her life. "Your face..." She bent over and grabbed her knees when she got to the point of laughter that left her lightheaded.

"We'll see who is laughing in about ten weeks."

The blonde kept laughing. "Nobody. I'll be screaming and pushing this kid out and you're probably going to look just...like...that."

Laxus crossed his arms and defaulted to sulking.

The blond suddenly clutched her stomach and let out a groan.

The expectant father nearly tripped over his feet. "Are you okay?" he asked in panic.

"Just kidding!"

"Lucy, you are being really terrible right now," he complained.

Lucy pulled him down by the collar and kissed him. "You'll be okay, Laxus. That's payback for that thing that happened on our wedding night with your finger. Let's head home."

Laxus felt his wife take his hand and he tangled his fingers in hers as they walked home. "It's safe for you to walk this far?"

"It's good for me and the baby. I have a whole list of exercises I've been doing," she answered.

They passed an ice cream shop. "You want some ice cream? I'm sure they have mint chocolate chip. Probably not avocado."

"I'm trying not to gain any more weight, you know. I was actually really bothered about you seeing me when you got back, but then I was so horny I forgot to be nervous," she admitted.

Laxus stopped then and ordered a large mint chocolate chip and a large vanilla cone, and while she complained, he ignored her. Then he gave her the cone and said, "You look _cute_."

They stopped and sat on a bench, and Lucy said, "You're a good guy."

"Your belly is cute. Every time I see it I remember that you're having my baby. The rest just appeals to me as a man. I like your curves, and I think I've said that in many, many rude ways over the years that we've known one another. So don't be like that. You're my wife. I love your little body."

Lucy leaned against him and he put an arm around her as she started on her ice cream. "I didn't know it would be this great to be with somebody. I wonder if everyone feels like this and I don't think so. What we have is special, I know it." She looked up and sighed, "You're about to ruin this sweet moment, aren't you?"

"You know it."

"What, Laxus?"

"Your ass is really nice right now. It's bigger and kind of rounder. When I was behind you earlier I just wanted to put bite marks all over it."

The blonde shook her head. "You _did_."

"Exactly. I don't have time for all that self-conscious crap when I have a booty to bite."

Once they finished, he asked, "Are you scared?"

"Of you treating my ass like it's a chew toy?"

Laxus met her eyes. "Of giving birth."

Lucy snuggled closer. "Not really. Maternal hormones are incredible. I know it's going to hurt, but when it's over, we get to hold our son."

"I don't know if I've ever looked forward to anything so much in my life."

His wife smiled. "You're going to be a good dad. But really, leave my butt alone for a while, you big weirdo."

 _ **Please Review!**_

AN: I started a new LaLu called _Melee: Punch Your Way to Love_. It's going to be more romance adventure.

 _Special thanks to Megumiyoung, SilverGhostKitsune, Numinous-Alqua, Ashatan87, skyepie, mwolfe13, arouraleona, w1n6s-0f-F1r3, darkfae7, killer-kelly420, misty shayna, adabs18, guesticle, jurahieiritr JIO, katiekat2001, sidjr100, yumeyumi1986, ladyallyssa, mewhee89, xxshyxx, and aoutre for reviewing!_


	16. The Thunder Baby

"Okay, Thunder Baby, we need to talk."

It was three in the morning, and Lucy was leaning on the edge of her bathtub after panting her way through a contraction. If this had been three weeks before, she would have been up in arms, but three rounds of 'false labor' had taught her that one measly labor pain doesn't mean anything. They'd started a week before her due date and had continued to that moment, when he was two weeks and two days overdue.

They'd tried _everything_. Lucy ate spicy foods, but the only cramps that came were from diarrhea, which was just fantastic during pregnancy. They walked all over Magnolia until her poor ankles swelled up to miserable proportions. Then they had sex until they were tired of looking at each other—or maybe that was just her, because he seemed pretty okay with it.

The last month of pregnancy had not been fun. Her back hurt, her bladder roughly had the capacity of a shot glass, and it was August, so one step outside and she felt like she'd spontaneously combust.

She rubbed her belly. "Look, I know you're apparently really comfortable in there, but your time is up. I really want to have you here at home, but you have about six hours to show me you're serious or you're going to be born in a hospital where they'll induce labor. And if you still don't want to come out, they'll cut you out. So no matter how you look at it, your time is up, so give it up, and _get out of my body."_

She waited, and another contraction didn't come, so she took a deep breath and started packing her bag for the hospital, being as quiet as possible since Laxus was somehow asleep for what seemed to be the first time in a while. He'd been restless, sleepless, and nervous.

"You want to do things the hard way? That's just fine with me, Thunder Baby. You get that from your father, and I hate to tell you this, but if I can deal with Thunder Dad, Thunder Baby is no problem," she uttered in complete irritation.

Lucy was so fed up, but she accepted it was not going to go the way she wanted to, so she finished packing her bag for the hospital, took a shower, shaved, and was drying off when she felt a contraction and her water broke.

She felt pressure immediately. "Laxus!"

He was at her side in an instant. "Are you all right?"

"This baby is coming," she panted as he grabbed her and steadied her.

She was standing in a puddle of liquid that had half a dozen scents he did not know and did not want to know, so he knew this probably really was it. "I'll get Porlyusica."

Lucy shook her head and groaned through the pain. "Loke."

Her faithful spirit appeared. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

The pain came again almost immediately and she cried out and clawed into him. "Laxus, this baby is coming _now_. I can feel it."

Panic coursed through him in an instant. His mouth made some argument about the stages of labor, but unbeknownst to him, while she stayed up in the bathroom complaining to their unborn son, she had dilated fully. He was holding her up and led her to the bed.

Lucy pulled off the towel she'd been wrapped in and put it under her as she leaned against the headboard. Another contraction came and she gritted her teeth together and started to push, driven by some crazy instinct.

Laxus was freaked out to the maximum allowed any human being. "Can you just wait a few minutes? You can't be serious."

He started to ease her knees back together, and she hissed. "You...idiot!"

Lucy screamed at the burning sensation, hands clenching the sheets and did what felt best in this moment, because she was literally giving birth and he was sitting there looking terrified and lost.

She kicked him in the shoulder and when the contraction passed, she cried, "Please stop being useless and help me. This really hurts. It hurts so bad. And I'm scared. Your son just decided to headbutt his way out of my vagina without any warning."

Laxus knew it would be senseless and stupid for a combat-hardened man such as himself to lose it. He gathered his wits, and was honestly relieved she'd dragged him to those insufferable classes. He ran back to the bathroom to get more towels, and the unopened bulb aspirator meant for helping babies with congestion from the medicine cabinet.

He did the best he could to prepare, wiping her down with disinfectant, and knelt between her legs on the bed as he reached out for her hands.

She pushed for about twenty minutes when she felt her son move down quite a bit.

Lucy held onto his hands and pushed on the next contraction and Laxus saw she was very right about their son's arrival being imminent. Her vagina bulged outwards, bloody blonde hair visible. Her let go of one of her hands and applied a little pressure when she pushed again and the baby's head started to emerge to the sound of Lucy's half-scream, half-growl.

The head was halfway out when the contraction subsided and Lucy found this the worst possible point, like progress stopped even momentarily with the baby in a place where she felt like she was being split open, but she could not really remember how to talk it hurt so bad. She clenched his hand so tightly and whimpered.

Laxus kissed her knee cap. "You're so strong, Lucy. It's almost over."

This gave her enough strength to open her eyes. "He's like you...he likes to make a big entrance."

"He also has my hair."

"We have the same hair color!"

"You'll see."

The next contraction came and she pushed as hard as she could and the head slipped free with a gush of liquid, followed by the shoulders, and was born into his father's hands. Laxus put him on a towel, cleared the fluid out of his nose, and wiped him off carefully as he let out an ear-splitting cry.

Laxus looked down at his son and up at his wife.

He couldn't think of any words at all. His first thought was really, _Did that just fucking happen for real?_ , but after that, there was nothing but wonder.

He sniffed his son, who had a scent mostly like her, with a little of him.

Laxus got off the bed and brought him to her. "Our son..."

Lucy lift her son to her breast on instinct, and he latched on on instinct. "He's so perfect."

The baby's gray-blue eyes were half-open as he suckled, and the new parents examined him. Lucy brushed her hand over his hair and discovered she'd never felt anything so soft in her life. It also went right back to standing straight up.

Their son's hair was _weird_ , and Lucy saw the little clumps of hair growing in different directions, with a little clump that grew outward in the front. She ran her fingers over it, and then reached up and pulled a little on the same tuft of hair on her husband's head.

Laxus smirked. "Poor kid..."

The door opened and Porlyusica came in with a bag and looked at the sight before her. Laxus was sitting on the edge of the bed and Lucy was laid there, legs still splayed open as she held the newborn to her breast.

And then she laughed.

"Laxus, don't tell me you delivered this baby!"

The man looked up and sarcastically answered, "Clearly, I missed my true calling as a midwife."

Porlyusica saw the baby was already suckling and seemed quite all right. "Any problems?"

Lucy shook her head. "He came really fast. I'd been having pains all night, but I really thought Thunder Baby was just messing with us again. The contractions weren't bad until my water broke, and then I could feel his head coming down."

The old woman went to disinfecting Lucy's everything and clamped the umbilical cord.

Laxus took the scissors in hand. "You stop being a mama's boy in this moment, understood?" he said as he snipped the cord. "You're my son."

"Honestly, Laxus...," Lucy said in exasperation.

After the placenta was delivered, Porlyusica cleaned up. Despite all the problems their son had given them, the birth had been as quick and easy as birth could be, with no complications or problems.

Lucy looked down at her little son and smiled. There was something so special about her connection to her son. He knew her, knew this was his mother, and they'd finally met. "Hey, Thunder Baby. I'm your mama."

Laxus' brows rose. "Are you still calling him that?"

"I just pushed this kid out of my vagina. I can call him whatever I want," his wife answered.

Porlyusica reached out for him. "Let me take a good look at him just to make sure he's all right. Does he have a name?"

"Yuri Dreyar. It's a family name," Laxus answered.

"That's a nice name," Porlyusica answered as she conducted an exam of the perfectly healthy baby boy.

She took him to the nursery for a moment to put a diaper on him and swaddle him properly in a blanket, and then returned him to his mother who was getting dressed in a nightgown and panties with a pad along with the help of her husband. "Yuri is very healthy. Breathing well, alert, moving around just the right amount."

She gave Lucy instructions, but they'd already talked about everything before and the blonde generally knew what to do and not to do as a first time mother who read many books and took a class.

Then Porlyusica grabbed Laxus by the ear and spoke loudly and slowly, "No sex for six weeks."

Laxus looked up. "What? I didn't hear you. Someone was yelling in my ear."

The woman tried to repeat herself. "I said that there should be no sex for—"

Laxus had fingers in both of his ears, scratching. "My ears are itchy. I wonder if someone is talking about me...were you saying something?"

Porlyusica looked down at Lucy. "How do you put up with this man?!"

"I love him somehow, so it's easy," she answered.

When the healer left them, Laxus climbed into the bed and tried to take his son from Lucy, who gave him a pout. "You've been holding him for ten months. It's my turn. I'll give him back in June."

Lucy gently placed her son in her husband's arms. "We had a baby, Laxus."

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "You're amazing. It really does take a lot to bring a baby into the world. My part was kind of easy, you know?"

Lucy snuggled up to him, wincing in pain for a second. Then, she ran her fingertips over her son's eyebrows. "Dreyar eyebrows, help."

"It's probably a good thing we had a son. Can you imagine a girl with my eyebrows?"

His wife laughed. "God no. With the hair too?"

Lucy decided there was nothing in the whole world that was cuter than the sight of Laxus laying there in the bed with his tiny newborn son on his chest. He adored the baby, and that much had been clear all along. He had a lot of love to give, no matter what anyone else said.

They stayed like that for a long time, snuggled up with their son, who was quite happy to be with his parents. The second time Yuri ate, he became still and closed his eyes.

"I think he fell asleep at the wheel," Laxus said.

Lucy nodded. "Poor little guy. Eat and fall asleep with a tit in your mouth, just like your daddy."

"He _is_ my son," Laxus answered with a smirk.

The doorbell rang, and Laxus scowled. "We've been found out."

"Oh no. Not already!"

They had decided—and made it clear to Fairy Tail—that they didn't want the whole guild in their house and they didn't want everyone to handle the baby when he was a newborn. The idea of everyone touching his son with their assorted guild bacteria was _entirely_ unsuitable to both of Yuri's parents.

Their short list only included Gramps, the Raijinshuu, and Team Natsu. Lucy's spirits would be around, but Laxus was honestly over all of them. There was nothing he could do about finding a man in a horse suit in his pantry at five in the morning or a mermaid in his bath water. He mentally treated them like children she'd had coming into the relationship—terrible, but not a deal-breaker.

"It's Gramps," he said, sensing the familiar magic. "You mind if he comes up?"

Lucy shook her head and buttoned up her nightgown.

Laxus went downstairs and opened the door. "Hey Gramps. Porlyusica really has a big mouth."

Makarov smiled widely as he entered. "Congratulations, grandson. Did you really deliver the baby?"

The lightning dragon slayer sighed, knowing he might never live that one down. "Didn't have much of a choice. Honestly, that kid has some nerve after all he's put us through."

Makarov followed him upstairs and found Lucy holding the sleeping baby. "My granddaughter-in-law! You look amazing for someone who just gave birth."

She smiled and he reached out for the baby.

Laxus squirted about half a cup of hand sanitizer in his hand. "No one with dirty hands is handling this kid, not even you."

"Don't be such a first-timer. I never bothered with you," Makarov answered as he rubbed his hands together.

His grandson crossed his arms. "Suddenly, my frequent childhood illnesses are not much of a mystery."

Makarov gently took his great-grandson. "That was probably unrelated."

"Yuri really take after Laxus, doesn't he?" Lucy asked.

The old man looked down at his great-grandson. "It's hard to tell. You and Laxus look like brother and sister already."

Laxus looked down at his wife and his eyes were opened. Both of them were blonde, and they had long eyelashes and little ears. He even had a similar bottom lip and nose. "Shit."

"You seriously didn't notice?"

Lucy looked up at her husband. "Wow, we do."

Makarov laughed at the couple. "Goldmine asked me if you were his hot sister the other day and when I told him you were his wife he thought I was joking."

Lucy looked at Makarov as he picked at them and cooed over their newborn simultaneously and she knew how Laxus had become Laxus. Her husband was an antagonizer by nature, but Makarov was the Master Antagonizer. She imagined them twenty years before, living in Makarov's house and she could see the old man annoying his grandson literally to death.

His rebellious years suddenly made so much sense.

Makarov bent down to kiss Yuri and Laxus narrowed his eyes threateningly. "You're such a blowhard of a first-time dad."

"I don't want _anybody_ kissing the baby," Laxus said.

"I'm not anybody. I'm great-gramps."

His grandson answered, "Your teeth didn't fall out _just because_."

Makarov decided not to cross his grandson while he was being so overprotective simply because Laxus really, truly had a bad personality. He honestly didn't understand how Lucy could deal with him and all the different sides of him.

"Are you going to have him circumcised?"

Laxus narrowed his eyes further. "Of course not."

"You're circumcised," Gramps pointed out.

"That was all Deadbeat's decision. Nobody fucking asked me," Laxus answered.

Makarov shrugged. "I talked him into it. You wife probably appreciates it."

Lucy frowned. "Getting a little bit personal there, Master."

The blonde honestly couldn't stand for anyone else to give her anymore advice. Being pregnant, she couldn't walk down the street without someone telling her the best position to give birth or how eating coconuts would make her baby cry less while she was breastfeeding.

The only reason she didn't throw Makarov out was because he was so very obviously in love with their son—with his toes, with his fingers, with his cute, crazy hair. He held the baby with teary eyes and no small amount of adoration, but he also multi-tasked so he could annoy the newborn's father.

When the two men got tired of picking at each other, Makarov looked up at Laxus. "I'm proud of you. You're going to be a great father."

Laxus blushed and crossed his arms, looking in the opposite direction. "Whatever. Thanks, I guess. Tch!"

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to Ashatan87, yumeyumi1986, Babs, killer-kelly420, , kurahieiritr JIO, w1n6sw-0f-f1r3, Adabs18, Darkfae7, newhee89, katiekat2001, Silverghostkitsune, chan19, sidjr100, LucyxAnyoneShipper, aoutre, arouraleona, and Megumiyoung for reviewing!**_


	17. The Screamer

"I think it's supposed to be warm."

At 2:53 am in the Dreyar kitchen: Loke, Virgo, a month old baby dragon, a tiger, and refrigerated breast milk.

Celestial spirits did not reproduce, neither did they have parental hormones or urges. What they did have was the desire to allow their master and her husband to sleep, because _this creature_ they created was—at least to Virgo—was fat little monster who made unpleasant noises.

He was currently making that sound that haunted their minds. Being telepathically connected to a woman with a newborn was... **punishment** _._

Loke, who was a much warmer, was trying to snuggle the baby out of his fit, but Thunder Baby was a tough customer.

The word Porlyusica had used to describe him was 'an unreptentant, stubborn screamer.' She also said Laxus had been the same way at birth.

The main issue with Yuri is that while he was somewhat agreeable with his parents most of the time (except at night, when he declared war on them for unknown reasons), he pretty much hated to be held by others. Porylusica said it might have been something with his sense of smell.

Virgo sniffed the breast milk in the cup. "Humans are very strange."

The tiger rubbed on her legs and made a little tiger talk, to which she said, "Cats are also peculiar."

"It's milk. Cats will be cats," Loke answered.

Virgo held out the cup. "Do you want milk too, Lion?"

Loke narrowed his eyes. "That's Lucy's breast milk."

"Does that make you want it more or less?" Virgo asked.

The lion shook his head. "I lost interest when she started having sex with him. It's a taboo that would have gotten me banned from the Celestial Realm again, so it's probably for the best."

"You never had a chance with Princess, big brother."

"You don't know that!"

Virgo smiled mischievously. "Princess has a taste for dragons."

Aquarius appeared through the dripping sink and sat on the edge of the counter as she watched Virgo about to attempt to feed the baby from a cup. "Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Babies drink from bottles."

Raijin the tiger growled and licked her lips and the mermaid swatted her lightly with her tail. "Easy, kitty, and nobody gets hurt."

There was a crash, a roar, and in an instant Loke's arms were empty and Laxus was standing in the middle of them with his son.

His presence brought instant fright because every single one of them had learned that a sleep-deprived Laxus was a terrifying sight indeed. One's chances of being struck by lightning indoors increased exponentially with every hour he went without sleep.

The lightning mage's eyebrow twitched, and the bags under his eyes made him appear considerably older.

Aquarius extended her arms. "Let me have him. Go back to sleep until you stop looking like that."

Laxus shook his head and took the bottle from Virgo. "A wise man once told me, 'Never trust a woman who smells like fish.'"

"If you didn't have that baby, I would drown you in the sewage line," she hissed.

"Don't let that stop you from trying. It's a good day for a fish fry."

Laxus and Aquarius knocked heads frequently, often literally. Which one was nastier? It was a great mystery. Laxus had said something rude to his wife in a somewhat cranky mood a couple of days before and she appeared in the shower with him to headbutt his skull into the wall so hard it broke the tiles.

But Aquarius, for all her nasty, wretched behavior, random appearances in the shower... _freaking loved babies_. Maybe not even all babies. She loved 'Thunder Baby' (as she referred to him exclusively), and she'd helped Layla Heartfilia care for Lucy as a newborn, so she wasn't as inept as the other spirits were. Yuri loved her also, and she'd hold him in the warm bath so he'd sleep. Both appreciated this.

So he considered his options, and gave her Yuri.

Lyra was an ace with the baby, but she had a limited contract with Lucy. She could put that baby to sleep with her harp in about fifteen seconds.

The only other spirit he trusted to take care of the baby was Aries. The baby simply adored being bounced on a big ball of pink fluff and would eventually go to sleep.

As for the rest?

Loke? Tried hard, kind of missed it somehow.

Virgo? Kind of seemed to not really like babies very much.

Plue? Plue was scared of Thunder Baby because Thunder Baby attempted to suck on his nose like it was a nipple.

Taurus? Lucy had summoned him one time since the birth of the baby and Laxus sent him straight home with a vengeance when he told her a grown bull never loses a taste for milk.

Cancer? Not a bad guy, but a guy who was just very nervous about a 'tiny human.'

Sagittarius? Just no.

Scorpio? Actually really cool with the baby, but he had the attention span of a horny mayfly.

Capricorn? Not into loud noises and therefore, incompatible with their son.

They had tried to use Gemini to trick him into thinking Lucy was holding him while she was actually in the shower, but Thunder Baby didn't buy it and he wasn't amused. It amazed his parents that he could tell the difference between the two. He took his mother very seriously.

Laxus went to bed and awoke four hours later feeling so much more rested he felt like he had a new lease on life. The first thing he saw as his eyes opened was his wife breastfeeding their son, and he gave her soft grin as he stirred and sat up to kiss her on the cheek. "Good morning."

"Morning," she said, turning to demand a kiss on the lips, which he obliged.

Every day, he was sure he fell more in love with her.

The bed was such an important place for a married couple, and since she had become his wife, so many things had happened in this small but soft space where they ended and began each day. A mental collage played in his mind of a thousand little moments that varied from taking an afternoon nap to rough sex to arguing to making up to laughing to tickle wars to belly snuggles to tears to the birth of their son to holding him and watching him sleep.

For the first few days, all they did was lay around with him between them in the bed, aww-ing over every little thing he did. At one month old, Yuri had never slept in his own room, which they had worked so hard on. He usually slept in a bassinet in their room but spent a lot of time in the bed also.

He stretched and sat up. "What's on your schedule?"

"I'm going to work out today. I need to get rid of this baby weight and my stomach looks funny," she said.

Laxus yawned. "You had a baby."

"...I know that..."

Her husband looked down at their son. "You honestly look fine."

"I'm carrying around twenty extra pounds. That's not cute," she argued.

"I honestly do think that it _is_ cute. You're in your twenties. You're a mom. It would be weird for you to have the body of a seventeen-year-old _girl_. I'd hit it, but I've been on probation for an eternity," he answered.

Lucy handed the baby over to her husband after he finished eating because Laxus was an amazing baby burper. Since he could hear the gas bubbles in his son's stomach, he had an advantage. Based on the way his stomach sounded, Laxus had become skilled in determining if the burp was going to be a clean one or the kind that left foamy breast milk dripping down his shoulder.

"This one is going to be gross," he commented as he reached onto his nightstand for a burp cloth.

While he had the baby, she got in the shower and just stayed there under the hot water for a while. Having a baby was quite the adventure, and she was so glad she was with Laxus. He was always so chill about everything and that had been comforting during the weird moments of pregnancy.

The curtain opened and he got into the shower with her.

"Fell asleep?"

"Scream, eat, burp, sleep. The life of a dragon."

He reached for the shampoo bottle and Lucy sighed happily and leaned against his chest. She loved when he washed her hair more than anything. There were probably moments where she'd take this over sex. The first time it happened, their son was three days old and she was deliriously tired and had greasy hair. Still full of hormones, she ended up crying about how tired she was and how dirty her hair was, so he'd washed it for her and the whole world became perfect.

The eucalyptus shampoo tingled as he worked it into her scalp, alternating between lightly scratching and massaging her scalp as she leaned on his chest, her arms wrapped around him. "I love you soooo much."

"I love you too. It's pretty awesome to have a hot wife and a cute son. Life is good for me now."

"Me too."

Laxus listened to her little moan and continued her relaxing, soapy scalp massage. "I kind of miss you being pregnant. I think it turned me on more than it was supposed to."

Lucy smiled against his chest. "It was fun. Just knowing I had your child growing inside of me. And then that last month...I want to say I'll never do that again but I don't really want Thunder Baby to be an only child. I've noticed since he was born you've gotten silent about your plan to have tons of children."

"That thing he does at night is a bit much. I always feel defeated by the time he actually goes to sleep."

When she tilted her head up, they kissed and he pulled her under the water to rinse the shampoo out. After he conditioned her hair, she decided to return the favor and listened to him purr like a cat while she washed his crazy hair. "I wonder if Thunder Baby's hair is going to be like this when he's grown."

"Probably. I wonder why we even bothered giving our son a name since no one in the world besides me actually uses it. You even have Gramps on Thunder Baby. What happens when he gets older?"

Lucy pushed his head under the water a little abruptly. "Thunder Boy."

"No."

His wife mused, "Maybe I could abbreviate it to TB."

"TB. TB, really? Why don't we just legally change his name to Tuberculosis Dreyar?" he answered in annoyance. "Because that's what TB is. You can't use those initials for anything else."

Lucy answered, "You did say you wanted a name that could be intimidating."

"Do you not like his name? We had extensive conversations about what to name him, and you were agreeable with Yuri."

"Of course I do. Yuri Dreyar is a beautiful name and it suits him, but he's still my little Thunder Baby."

Laxus finally gave in and decided he'd approach this issue again later.

When they got out of the shower and dried off, the baby was still asleep, and, still wrapped in towels, Lucy grabbed his hand. "I have an idea."

Lucy led him down the hall to the nursery, which was painted in bright primary colors. She shut the door, and he was puzzled until she gave him a look and dropped the towel. The baby was sound asleep in their room, and they dare not wake him.

It hadn't been a whole six weeks yet, but Laxus was not going to question this. Wendy had healed her, and wizards naturally healed faster than ordinary people. Plus, they really did need it. The day-to-day stress of having a somewhat disagreeable baby was real, no how much they absolutely adored Yuri.

Laxus looked around the room and his eyes fell on a six-foot-tall stuffed teddy bear Mirajane bought for the nursery and he flipped it over. He swooped Lucy up in his arms and laid her on top of it, and then joined her.

Lucy kissed him, and looked up at the clock. Yuri had an internal timer that would cause him to scream whenever two hours passed between feedings. He would also scream like all hell if he woke up and he could not smell either of his parents.

He'd kissed from her mouth to her neck when he started crying and both parents just sighed.

"We tried," Lucy said.

They put their towels back on and went upstairs to find their son had quieted down in the arms of a stranger that had slipped through the window. They ran to the bathroom to dress, and came out to find their son was still pleased with the house guest.

Natsu and the rest of her team had been on an s-class job with Erza, and having just got home, the fire dragon slayer went straight to the Dreyar house, knowing Lucy should have had her baby already.

Natsu and Yuri were indulging in a practice Lucy scolded Laxus for on a daily basis.

Unlike ordinary human babies, Thunder Baby not only screamed, but he also growled, but only at his father. Laxus growled back, and they both seemed amused to do this. Thunder Baby also now growled at Natsu, who—of course—found this cool and returned the gesture.

"Thunder Baby must know you're a dragon too," Lucy said.

Natsu grinned at the baby. "Hey there, Thunder Baby! Nice to meet you. Last time I saw you, you were in your Mom's tummy."

"Yuri. His name is Yuri," Laxus commented, although he had learned by this point that whatever insanity Lucy practiced, Natsu practiced also.

It actually made sense that Natsu would be good with babies, as soon as Lucy thought about it. He was warm, and crazy, and had good instincts about the people around him.

Lucy watched them growl at one another. "Natsu, you're awfully good and cute with him. Maybe you and Lisanna should have a baby."

"Nope," his monosyllabic answer was fast and without hesitation.

Laxus was going to go downstairs to make breakfast when Natsu pulled out a magazine on the windowsill.

"This issue of Sorcerer Weekly has pictures of you," he said,.

Laxus hadn't been on a job in two months, so he wasn't sure why, but when he took it and flipped through it, he sighed deeply. "Fuck my life."

Natsu and Happy laughed.

The magazine had a collection of pictures of him...

...going to into a childbirth class with his wife...

...talking to her stomach in the park...

...feeding her ice cream...

...cradling his newborn son on the way to a checkup at the doctor...

"Well, my reputation just went up in smoke," he commented as he threw the magazine in the air.

Lucy smiled at him. "I think it's cute. Besides, it's good for people to see a wizard can be a good dad. I don't know if you've noticed this, but wizards tend to suck at real life, Alzack and Bisca excluded."

"Whatever," he sulked.

Natsu's nose twitched and he handed the baby off to his father.

"He pooped."

"Get out."

 _ **Please Review!**_

Special thanks to yumeyumi1986, 3, Paname, boyceashlee, Miss Dany, kurahieiritr JIO, Gaia Kame, SilverGhostKitsune, aoutre, kill-kelly420, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, mewhee89, sinfuljinn, katiekat2001, darkfae7, adabs18, megumiyoung, westerngoddess, sidjr100, lucyxanyoneshipper, mwolfe13, and arouraleona for reviewing!


	18. The Bump

Yuri Dreyar, now four months old, was having a rough day. His father? He was having a rough day too. His son became a more terrifying child every time he learned to do something new and his newest trick was rolling.

Lucy was on a job for the first time in over a year, and Laxus really was trying to prove that he could handle the baby without her, but he'd never had Yuri all to himself for such a long period of time. Forty-eight hours in and he was sure his son was causing him grief purposefully.

He'd left Yuri on a blanket on the couch for _one minute_ to answer the door, and he was signing for a package when he heard a thump and a scream, and the delivery guy looked at him like he was the worst father ever.

He'd been screaming for ten minutes since then, and Laxus was panicking as he quickly tried to get him dressed to take him to Porlyusica.

Trying to change and dress a screaming infant was actually a lot harder than it looked. Yuri was a screamer, a kicker, a wiggler, a roller, and he didn't seem to appreciate the clothing experience at all to start with.

Laxus took his diaper off and was so busy panicking about the bump on the baby's head he forgot Yuri had another interesting little quirk.

He was trying to reason with him, when Yuri peed on his face.

The baby's father barely closed his mouth in time, and he made some kind of face that caused his son to stop screaming and smile.

Laxus reached for a baby wipe and wiped his face off. "Pee on my face and smile..."

When he brushed his fingertips on the bump forming on the baby's head from rolling off the couch, Yuri started yelling again. Laxus managed to put a clean diaper on him, and practically wrestled him into a blue onesie that had a dragon on it.

He rushed the screaming baby to Porlyusica's house in the woods and banged on the door.

The old woman opened the door and found Laxus holding a screaming infant on his shoulder. "What have you done to Thunder Baby?"

"He started rolling around a lot recently and he uhh...rolled off the couch."

Porlyusica took the infant and saw the bump on his head. "Where's his mother?"

Laxus crossed his arms and cut his eyes to one side. "My wife went on a job and left him with me. He screamed like a banshee when he realized she wasn't there yesterday. He rolled off the couch today. He peed on my face. I think he's just mad his mother isn't home."

"I heard you're nasty when you're away from Lucy too. Like father, like son?" the old woman asked as she examined the baby thoroughly for any signs of concussion. The idea of this child peeing on Laxus was indescribably amusing to her.

"Is my son okay?" Laxus worriedly asked.

"He's fine. Just a little bump. It'll probably leave an ugly little bruise," she answered.

Porlyusica really was enjoying the drama as it unfolded. She'd known a lot of babies over the course of her life, but Thunder Baby was a very special little guy. Somehow, he acted just like his father most of the time, and she didn't know how Lucy managed to deal with both of them at once. She wanted to say she had the patience of a saint, but she really didn't. Maybe with the baby, but Porlyusica had seen Lucy blow up and wag her finger at Laxus for being ridiculous.

Laxus was so relieved the baby was okay and took him back from the woman. "Any chance you can mash some herbs and potions and get rid of this bump? Lucy will be home tomorrow. She's only been gone for two days."

The old woman laughed at him. "Of course not. He's a baby. I can't just give him potions. She's going to let you have it when she sees her son's forehead all bruised."

"How about Wendy?"

"He's a baby. We can't just use magic on him. You're son is going to have a bruise and everyone is going to think you're a bad father until it goes away, especially people who don't have kids. Honestly, it's not that big of a deal. Every kid does stuff like this," she answered.

The woman gave him a little bottle with an eye dropper and unscrewed the top, filling the dropper halfway. "Give him this much for his headache every four hours." She gave him the first dose with practiced ease, although Laxus knew that it would be an ordeal to do at home like trying to get him to take his vitamins.

Laxus nodded. "Thanks. You're a lifesaver."

Porlyusica scribbled a bill and he reached into his pocket for some jewels.

"Do you remember Chelia Blendy?"

He had to think about it for a while. "Umm...the girl from Lamia Scale. She lost her magic, right?"

Porlyusica nodded. "She wants to become a pediatrician, but that means years of school. So she's enrolled here in Magnolia. She needs a cheap place to stay, and you need a nanny if you're both going to be going on jobs out of town. I think she can handle the Thunder Baby experience."

"She's all right?"

"Chelia is a really good kid."

The subject had come up between Laxus and Lucy before, and while the gut reaction of new parents was to automatically oppose the idea of anyone else helping raise their child, there was a pragmatics issue.

First, they were both wizards, and Lucy didn't want to quit her job and stop progressing because they had a baby, and he wouldn't have asked her too. Motherhood didn't mean all her other dreams and goals died, and she was so excited to go on this job with her team. It was important to him that nothing go wrong so she'd feel like it was okay to do what she needed to do.

Second, there were occasions they fought in the same battles or might have to be gone at the same time. What then? Most of the people they knew might very well be involved in the same conflict, especially if it was something guild-wide, and they didn't have any relatives besides Makarov.

Laxus took his baby and headed back home, stopping at the market to grab a few essentials. Baby balanced on one shoulder, basket in the other, he really didn't know how Lucy managed to do all that she did. Mothers were amazing to him, and he was glad Yuri had such a great one.

While he was at the market, he put things into his basket and explained what they were as he went down the aisles. Even if Yuri didn't understand, he always found himself talking to his son about everything. The baby expected Laxus to talk to him by that point in his life, so it was a source of comfort.

Yuri was a curious baby, and he looked around at everything going on around him while Laxus shopped. Diapers, wipes, bacon, eggs, bread, meat, and snacks went into his basket. Since he'd been screaming half the morning for assorted reasons, he slumped over and fell asleep, drooling on his father's shoulder while the women in the store swooned over the sight of a big strong man who loved his baby that much.

Laxus was walking home with a paper bag full of groceries in one hand and and was using the other to hold his son on his shoulder when he felt someone leap at him from the side. He cursed under his breath, threw the bag in the air, kicked an assailant in the face with a little lightning, and then caught the bag on his foot.

Romeo tumbled across the ground. "Owww...oh shit! I didn't know you had the baby! Sorry!"

"You should be glad I know your scent or you'd probably be dead right now. And since when are you old enough to curse?" he asked.

"You're such a dad now..." Romeo grabbed the grocery bag and walked beside him. "I've never seen Thunder Baby in person before."

"God, that name..."

"What's his real name again?"

"Not even sure if it matters anymore, but Yuri."

"How come his forehead is purple?"

Laxus brought him down from his shoulder and found the entire front of the baby's forehead was bruising. "He fell off the couch."

When they got to the Dreyar house, Laxus put the groceries down, brought a blanket outside, and put the baby on it. "You wanted a fight?"

They had a quick sparring session while Yuri watched, and then when Romeo went home, Laxus took the baby in, fed, and changed him. The baby took a nice little nap, and around dinner time, Laxus fed him again and then made himself some bacon and eggs while he put his son in his high chair.

As soon as he sat down to eat, the baby threw his bottle across the table and started yelling.

Laxus pinched a soft bite of egg between his fingers and blew on it. "Is this what you want?"

Yuri bit down on his fingers as he took the egg and held it in his mouth for a while before he made some chewing motion.

"You only have one tooth, I guess you can gum it to death though, huh?"

The baby swallowed and opened his mouth.

His father offered him another piece of egg. "Look, we have a weaning plan. This is not part of it. You're supposed to be on breast milk only for two more months. So if your mom finds out I fed you solid food while she was gone, she's going to kill me and you'll be fatherless."

And, since he was confessing his sins to his son, he added, "I also took you outside without pants, and your mother would be infuriated about that. She likes to have you all dressed up before you go out in public. To her, a baby in a onesie in public is like a grown person going outside in their underwear. But trying to dress you is like trying to put a straight jacket on a python."

Once he finished, he cleaned up a little while his son watched his every move, and he drew a warm bubble bath in the huge master bath. He put the baby in his bath seat and got into the water.

"You better not poop this time or we're going to have a problem," he warned.

Laxus soaped up his own hair, which was inexplicably hilarious to his son, who laughed and splashed his hands and feet around at the sight of it. He did the same to his son, and they sat there with soapy, spiky hair and stared at one another.

Laxus rinsed his hair, then his sons, and washed himself, then his son, taking care to make sure he didn't miss any spots. "It'll be the apocalypse if she comes home and your ears aren't clean. But, we're all right without her, right?"

The baby looked up at him.

"You're right. It's not the same. We're hopeless."

He thumped the water, sending a tiny splash at his son, who excitedly flailed around in the water and laughed.

XXX

Lucy rushed home, anxious to see her son. She'd never been away from him before, and the whole time she was on her job, she had wondered if Laxus was doing all right.

When she opened the door, Laxus was sound asleep on the couch and Yuri was curled up asleep on his chest.

They both stirred at the same time, and Laxus stood up and greeted her with a kiss, holding their half-asleep infant son. "Let me explain..."

Lucy took him and as soon as she turned him to hold him, she saw his forehead was one huge bruise. "Laxus! What...is he okay?"

"He's fine, Babe."

Lucy rubbed his back. "My poor baby! How did this happen?'

"He rolled off the couch."

"You left him there by himself?!"

"For one minute."

Lucy felt the baby nuzzle at her chest and unbuttoned the top few buttons of her shirt. "You took him to the doctor?"

"Of course. Porlyusica said he was fine. Besides, he's my kid. His head is probably pretty hard," her husband answered. "He literally ate twenty minutes ago. He's just being a glutton."

Lucy felt him latch on as soon as she pushed her bra down and then winced. "Easy with that tooth, Mister."

Laxus bent down to kiss her. "You had a good time?"

"It was great. I was a little worried about you guys, but it looks like you managed."

After eating, the baby nodded back off to sleep so they put him in his crib and headed back to their bedroom. Lucy shut the door and grinned at her husband, and he pulled his shirt over his head.

Now that their son was starting to sleep better, their lives had calmed down considerably.

Intimacy was wonderful to them, and not just the sex part. Laying in bed and talking about everything, and taking care of one another and loving each other on a day-to-day basis was all very important. Having a baby together had been the most intimate thing in the world, and not only for the belly snuggles and birth, but for everything that came in between and after.

After they made love, she snuggled up to him. "So anything else I need to know about?"

Laxus would say nearly anything right after sex, so it was a fantastic time to ask questions he might not usually answer.

"I took the baby outside without pants."

"Ugh, you know how I feel about that!"

He sat answered, "Do you have any idea how hard it is to put clothes on that creature?"

"Yes, I do it everyday. Sometimes several times a day, in fact."

Laxus said, "He actually hasn't worn pants since you left. Most of the time, he was just rolling around in his diaper."

"Honestly..."

"He didn't mind. What he minds is pants."

The boy's mother answered, "I don't care what he minds. He's a baby. He literally minds everything except funny faces, weird sounds, bubbles, eating, and growling."

"He's a great guy."

Lucy sighed and shook her head. He was such a cute dad, and he really did love their little son so much. It was such a sharp contrast to what she had previously thought of when she heard the word 'father,' which always reminded her of her cold father. "Anything else I need to know?"

Laxus shook his head. "No, I can't think of anything."

Something about the way he said it caused her to sit up. "What did you do, Laxus?!"

"Nothing."

"Laxus!"

He groaned. "Why do you have to know me that well?"

"We're married, remember?"

Laxus looked up. "I fed our son food."

"Food...like...people food..." she whispered in shock.

"Eggs are people food, I suppose? He _is_ people, you know," her husband answered.

Lucy reached into the nightstand and flipped through a notebook. "We have a weaning plan, Laxus! You are not following the plan! What if he couldn't chew? What if he choked? What if it had made him sick?"

"None of those things happened. Relax. A dragon's stomach is a force to be reckoned with."

Lucy rolled over and stared at the ceiling. "So in three days, our son fell off the couch, ate solid food, and went outside without pants. Sounds like you two guys had a pretty good father-son time."

"It was a fantastic male bonding experience."

"You're a good dad."

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	19. The Second Round

Date night!

The best part of having a live-in nanny was that they could both leave the house _at the same time_. Having an infant and careers tended to necessitate separation where one would work and the other would be with the baby, then they'd switch, or if Lucy went to the market he'd keep the baby. It wasn't terrible, but since Chelia moved in, life had improved significantly.

On Friday nights, Chelia took their eight month old son to some music and play class for babies, and they went out. Thunder Baby seemed indescribably happy to go see the other babies and seemed to treat this as a high point of his entire week.

So they walked hand-in-hand through downtown Magnolia.

Lucy almost couldn't believe how long they'd been together. They'd been together for nine months before they got engaged, married six months later, had a baby ten months later, and he was already eight months old, so they were creeping up on almost three years.

Life was good and Lucy was so glad she'd said yes the day he asked her out. She couldn't even imagine how her life would be without Laxus and their baby boy.

Laxus felt her grab his arm and snuggle against him, lovingly gazing up at him. Somehow, he still couldn't resist when she was sweet on him like this, and he'd noticed their son was equally undone by the purely sweet affections of his mother. They were equally powerless against her, and no matter what was going wrong, she could make the whole world all right.

Yuri was getting to an age where sleep wasn't so much of a problem for them anymore and he was growing out of some of his more abhorrent habits and into a much cuter stage. He'd laugh and play with nearly anyone now, although when he was upset, he still maintained the 'short list' of people that could handle him.

They had a nice dinner together, dressed up like people do when they go out on a date, not how they do when they have an ambitiously messy infant crawling all over the house.

When they got home, their son was already asleep, and Chelia and Wendy were in Chelia's room with the door closed.

They looked in on the baby and stood over his crib as he slept with his mouth open.

"He's just like his daddy," Lucy whispered.

Laxus grinned softly at him. "Isn't he?"

His little toes curled in his socks and Laxus pinched them lightly, causing him to jerk his foot away in his sleep. Laxus enjoyed bothering their son when he was truly in a deep sleep.

"Leave him alone. He's sleeping well."

Laxus poked his little face and Yuri's expression soured. "Revenge of the parents. Let's start waking him up eight times every night."

Yuri's eyes cracked open and closed again as he rolled away from his father and emitted some noise that communicated he wanted to be left alone.

Lucy decided this was as good of a time as any and looked up at her husband. "So umm...Laxus, honey..."

Something about the uneasy way she said his name caused him cease his pointless torture of their infant. "What it is it, babe?"

"I feel weird."

"Weird? Like how..."

The blonde nervous answered, "...pregnant?"

"... _pregnant_..." he very dryly and very slowly repeated. "Pregnant. Like," he pointed down at their son, "...that?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes. Like that. Pretty sure that's the only way."

Laxus couldn't really describe how he felt in that moment, but once as a teenager he'd been hit by magic vehicle because he was wearing headphones and not paying attention when he crossed the road.

It was kind of like that.

Since Lucy couldn't take birth control while breastfeeding, they'd been using condoms, but now that their son had been weaned, Lucy had wanted her body to get hormonally back to normal before going back on.

"How?"

"The same way it happened the first time?"

As soon as Laxus considered it, they _had_ been careless. As a single man, he'd been insanely careful, never willing to take the risk. As a husband, he was a little more relaxed and taken the risk on a few occasions.

"I have a test. I didn't really want to take it by myself. I kind of wanted to tell you first and ask you how you feel," she said.

It was certainly unexpected, but they were married and very happy as a family. Unplanned pregnancy at any other stage of his life would have been disastrous, but Laxus was not really that bothered by the idea.

He bent down and kissed her cheek. "I'm all right. Let's find out though."

They went upstairs to the master bath and Laxus sat on the edge of the bathtub while Lucy read the instructions and tore the box open. There was a day when she would have died if he'd told her she'd ever be comfortable enough to use the restroom in front of him, but that was before pregnancy. After having a kid together, they had a completely different level of comfort around one another.

She peed on the stick, put the cap on the pregnancy test, wiped, and flushed, then washed her hands and sat on the lid of the toilet with the test in hand.

"Is it healthy for you to have another baby this soon?" he asked.

Lucy shrugged. "According to all the books we read, eighteen months is a good amount of time to wait. Thunder Baby is eight months, so...maybe not ideal, but I'm young and healthy and strong."

"Sorry."

His wife answered, "We're kind of equally guilty in this."

The spent the rest of the time waiting quietly, and a little plus sign slowly appeared.

"I'm pregnant."

Her husband took a deep breath and gave her the subtlest of smiles. This wasn't really part of their plan, but neither of them was completely devastated. He kissed her, they took a shower together, and then dressed and snuggled up in bed. They were quiet, but sweet, each considering all the various things that were about to change in their lives again.

Once they were in bed, he put a hand on her belly. "Round two?"

XXX

The next morning, Lucy was feeding her son when she felt the same twinge of nausea that had alerted her to her pregnancy. She made a face and knowing her well, her husband took the baby food Chelia made homemade for their son and offered him a spoonful. The boy chomped down, biting the fork with his teeth and held onto it, refusing to let go.

Like his father, Thunder Baby would eat _anything_. There was never a fuss about whether or not he'd eat something, but on the flip side, he'd demonstrated he'd eat things that weren't necessarily food as well. Laxus assured his wife bugs and dirt were probably good for his digestion, but she didn't buy it at all. Thunder Baby did not care whether or not she bought it; he was intent on continuing to consume those things regardless of anyone's judgment.

Chelia came bouncing downstairs, headphones on her ears. She took them off briefly and asked, "Hey, can I borrow the baby at about two this afternoon?" She asked like she was asking to borrow a pair of pants or a pencil.

"...for what reason?"

"I'm going shopping and the guy at the shop gives me crazy discounts if I have Thunder Baby because he thinks I'm a teenage mother trying to provide for my young son by myself," she said.

Laxus shook his head, but said nothing.

"How did he come to the conclusion you were single mother?" Lucy asked.

"Well, I had Thunder Baby, and so he just assumed he was my kid. He asked if I was with his father, which I'm not. He didn't ask if I was the lesbian nanny helping a wizard couple raise their cranky baby dragon," she explained.

Chelia was really nothing short of brilliant, and she took amazing care of their son. She tolerated none of Yuri's more unfortunate behaviors. When they first met, Yuri resisted her through the power of biting, and Chelia subdued him by lightly thumping his nose. She was learning about caring for babies so she did things like take him to baby classes, make homemade food, and teach him about colors and sounds when they weren't around. If one had to have additional help with a baby, it was great for that person to be knowledgeable about things like learning and nutrition.

Laxus sniffed the baby food and tried it. "This is pretty good. What is it?"

"Mashed bananas, pureed carrots, and kale. Okay, I'm out, I'll be back to get Thunder Baby later," she said as she put her headphones back on and bounced out the door.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Thunder Baby saw his father eat his baby food and yelled in protest.

The baby's father responded to this protestation by taking a big, slow bite. "Mmmmmmm..."

Yuri let out what Lucy called a 'baby dragon screech' and she covered her ears. "Will you please stop teasing your son?"

"I made him. I can piss him off if I want."

Yuri threw his cup at Laxus and the two men stared one another down. Laxus made a mean face that would have made any other person in the world piss themselves, and the baby did his best to do the same. Baby growled, Daddy growled louder.

Laxus reached to the little pile of dry cereal on his high chair and stole one, popped it into his mouth, and made a show of chewing it before the enraged infant, who let out another angry screech. He repeated this action, and the boy slammed his hands down and continued yelling.

"Laxus..."

Lucy sighed, because this is just what they did. They all had their own relationship with the baby, and while Yuri was happy to accept her coos and snuggles and kisses, his dynamic with Laxus was completely different. They seemed determined to make each other crazy most of the time, and they were both happy with this arrangement.

"Laxus."

When Thunder Baby ran out of patience (which happened quickly for most eight month olds), he looked up at his mother and screamed.

Lucy's head was already hurting, she wanted to crawl back in bed, and she needed to puke. Yet as she stood there, her husband was steadily making the baby scream and cry for her. And she decided he was okay with her pregnancy because he wasn't the one who had to barf, pee, and push the kid out. His job, if she had to guess just by looking at him, was to annoy the baby.

Her patience wore thin and then vanished completely. "LAXUS! SHUT UP!"

He froze in place, as if he had turned to stone. He wasn't actually talking when she shouted, but he had known her for long enough that she was blaming him for the noise.

The baby similarly froze, and stared at her in wonder.

Lucy threw up in the kitchen trash, and found when she finished hurling that the kitchen was dead silent. Father and son were watching her in silence with the same cautious expression. She looked upon them and started laughing.

Her husband decided it would be best for everyone if he just fed the baby and tried not to irritate his wife for a while. It suddenly occurred to him that pregnancy was going to be a little more complicated with an infant.

And Thunder Baby had no understanding, so he just decided to eat and stop yelling.

Laxus looked up. "You can lay down for a bit. We'll be good."

"Sorry," she quietly said, "I needed to throw up and you two..."

Yuri reached up for her and spoke in a language he only knew as if he was trying to explain himself. He had moments where he was very vocal and talkative, so they knew he'd be making actual words soon, but for now he had a mouthful of syllables that sounded a little angry.

Lucy did not pick him up, so he reached up and screeched again. "Let me just wash my mouth out, okay? I'll be right back."

He decided to yell while she did this, and so Laxus took him from his high chair and put him in the living room so he could crawl around on the floor. Their son seemed to have an excessive amount of energy, and much of his day was spent cruising around. Sometimes, he would pull himself up using furniture.

One of his favorite activities was to climb all over Raijin, who had taken such a liking to the baby that she slept under his crib at night and they often took naps together throughout the day. They also growled at one another, and once, they were playing outside while Lucy watched and the tiger politely informed some random passer-bys with a roar that they were not to stop and look at the baby.

When Lucy brushed her teeth and washed the taste of knocked up out of her mouth, she found her son had moved on to zipping around on the floor. "You want to keep him while I go see Porlyusica?"

"We can take him with us."

They dressed and went to visit Porlyusica, who opened the door and immediately reached for the only human she would admit to liking.

"Look at you, Thunder Baby. You're getting so big!" she cooed.

Laxus believed his son had a magical charm power over "cranky old bitches" (Porlyusica, Aquarius), and they waited for her to express her affections while Lucy sat on a chair and Laxus leaned on the wall.

Porlyusica finally turned to them. "Why are you two here?" she asked, eyes narrow.

Lucy laughed nervously. "Well...I think I might kinda maybe be pregnant."

The old woman looked from her to Laxus. "...idiots..."

Laxus put his son down on the floor and watched him as he crawled about, exploring the apothecary's house curiously. He sniffed the air, which was full of strange herbal scents that were interesting to a little dragon's nose.

When Porlyusica confirmed Lucy was six weeks pregnant, she gave them a long lecture about how long they should have waited, gave Lucy vitamin supplements, and then bashed Laxus upside the head with a pot she normally used to make healing potions.

"It's not an ideal situation," the older woman explained, "but in this particular case, it's unlikely there will be complications. Lucy is young and very strong. There were no real complications with the last pregnancy or birth. She'll have to be very careful to get enough nutrition, especially calcium, unless you want her teeth to fall out and her bones to get brittle. Gain a little more weight than last time, don't forget your vitamins, and be mindful that your body is going to need more rest."

Lucy nodded in understanding. "Anything else?'

Porlyusica added, "After you have this kid, you might want to send your oldest child," he indicated Laxus, "to have a _procedure_."

Porlyusica screamed suddenly and they looked down at their son as he stuck his finger in an electric lacrima adapter.

His parents were unmoved at this terrifying idea that made most parents scream in fear.

Electricity passed from the outlet to the baby, and the baby laughed and let out a lightning burp.

Lucy sighed. "He started doing _that_ about two weeks ago when he started crawling. I almost died from a heart attack the first time."

"Consider the procedure."

"Consider shutting your mouth," Laxus answered.

"Consider condoms."

"Consider minding your own business."

Porlyusica and Laxus went at it for a few minutes while Lucy considered her life, collected her little son off the floor, and waited.

They left, and Laxus watched her thoughtfully as they walked home. She had one baby balanced on her hip and another growing in her womb. To him, she was a perfect mother and the best wife there ever was, so he was looking forward to the baby's arrival since it was now several weeks too late to be concerned with the baby's life scheduling.

They passed a park, and Laxus saw a big slide and took their little son.

"You sure he's ready for that?" Lucy asked.

Laxus rolled his eyes. "He's a tough little guy. What's the worst that will happen? We're right here."

"Let me go down with him then," she said.

Lucy climbed up on the slide, which was six feet tall, and he handed her the baby. Thunder Baby seemed suspicious, yet curious, and the slide was a bright color, which was exciting to him. She put her son in her lap and slid down, and he immediately squealed in sheer delight, laughing and giggling and making a flurry of baby talk about this exciting new experience.

Laxus could always tell when their son was really excited because all his limps would flail around and he'd usually roll over.

It was too cute and so his father picked him up and put him back at the top, letting him slide down on his own, which was even more exciting because Mom caught him at the bottom.

The more Yuri went down the slide, the more he screamed and jerked around, but on the fifth time, he became silent and looked around listlessly.

Laxus asked, "Maybe he's bored?"

When he picked up Yuri, the boy promptly puked up everything that had been in his stomach, right onto his father. Then, he shook and very slowly broke down into tears. As any parent knew, the longer it took a baby to start crying, the worse the baby usually felt.

Lucy broke out the diaper bag and said, "I think that he has motion sickness."

Laxus held his son out at arms length while he screamed. "You really are like me. Poor little guy."

Honestly, by that point of parenthood, being puked on was not at all bothersome. Laxus took his shirt off, Lucy changed the baby's clothes and cleaned him up, then wiped her husband down with baby wipes. The baby clung to his father tightly and after he became tired of screeching, laid limp on his shoulder.

When they got home, Yuri took a nap until Chelia came to 'borrow' him, which he was happy about. He generally liked to go outside and do things, which made it easier for everyone.

Lucy went to go take a nap, and her husband joined her after a shower, snuggling closely in the bed.

When she awoke from her nap, he was asleep, one hand draped around her to rest on her belly.

Lucy kissed him gently, and he awoke to smile at her. "Hey."

"Hey. How's my pregnant wife?" he asked.

"Good. How's Dad?"

"Good."

Laxus yawned and stretched. "You make sure you follow Porlyusica's instructions, okay?"

His wife nodded.

"I want this baby to be a girl."

Her husband nodded. "Agreed. I think the world really can't handle another one like that last kid we had. He's kind of a handful."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to Guests Aryillia, kurahieiritr JIO, Misty Shayna, totalqt91, Paname, killer-kelly420, LucyXHeartfiliaXFan, boyceashlee, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, Julius Night, Katieboom, katiexAnyoneshipper, yumeyumi1986, Megumiyoung, mewhee89, thornadom aoutre, katiekat2001, wild birdie, silverghostkitsune, and arouraleona for reviewing!**_


	20. The Guild

Thunder Baby was born stubborn.

It worked to his advantage as he started to venture into the world of walking. He was on the early side according to books, but he was ready in his little dragon self. He was on the crux of graduating from babyhood, at least in his own little mind, and he _did_ have a mind.

His father was sitting on the floor, arms open as Yuri held onto the coffee table suspiciously.

Most of the time, his first step away from the coffee table landed him on the ground.

Lucy came in and watched the two men staring one another down. She wondered sometimes what went through her son's mind throughout the day, but at the rate he was growing, he was probably going to let them know fairly soon. She wondered at times if he would inherit his father's somewhat warped sense of reality. There were times that he exhibited signs of what she could only call 'Laxusism,' and her husband objected to this terminology because he said it made their son's likeness to him seem like a disability of some kind.

"Come here, little one," his father commanded.

Thunder Baby threw a toy and shook his head.

Lucy knelt. "Come to mama, my handsome boy! Thunder Baby! You need kisses?"

The baby was persuaded by the sweet affections of his mother and let go of the coffee table to take one, two, three, four steps before he hit the floor and shrieked, "Maaaaamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Both of his parents were shocked because he had never made an actual word. Yuri had been close on a few occasions, but this was purposeful and loud and he called for his mother knowing exactly the word he had formed.

Lucy swept him up from the floor, tear-eyed. "Thunder Baby, you called me..." She gave him a flurry of kisses and snuggled him, and he forgot what he was mad about. "You said mama..."

"Mamaaaa!"

Laxus stood up and ruffled his abundant but crazy blond hair. "Walking _and_ talking, huh? He's getting big, isn't he?"

Lucy really wasn't sure why she was crying so hard—she was sure it wasn't just being overjoyed their son was talking and walking. She'd been so emotional during this second pregnancy. Her first pregnancy was a piece of cake, and although Laxus and Chelia made her life better, there was nothing like being fourteen weeks pregnant and having a ten-month-old _at the same time_.

So she held her son and cried while he continually repeated the word 'Mama,' which only made her cry harder.

"I really am happy," she said.

Thunder Baby kissed her cheek and snuggled her happily, holding her close as if to empathize with her tears, and this only made her happier to be his mama. It was nothing short of amazing to them how many new things he was starting to do.

They had a happy baby boy and mama moment while Laxus watched them, and he saw his son give him a strange sideways glare, as if to gloat that he was currently the recipient of the woman's affections. Moments like _that_ made Laxus think his son was actually very smart and had a pretty good understanding of what was going on around him. This was especially true concerning Lucy. Yuri seemed to be very good at figuring out how she felt and if she wasn't feeling well, he'd sit and be still and silent _for hours_ until Laxus or Chelia came around, and then release a hours' worth of noise and difficulty.

Laxus took his son from her arms. "I made you an appointment to have a spa day today. Relax, we'll hold it down here. Dragons are a fucking pain in the ass, right?"

"Please watch your language, Laxus. He's starting to talk, and I promise you don't want to be you on the day that baby drops an f-bomb," she warned.

He tried to imagine the baby saying it, and decided there were probably a lot of coarse words he spoke that weren't appropriate and that Yuri would probably learn all of them if for no other reason than to get him in trouble with Lucy.

Lucy meanwhile considered the idea of a spa day carefully. "Chelia is out of town."

"Yuri and I can manage. We'll have a man's day. We'll eat junk food, burp, growl, walk around without shirts, take a nap, and maybe go swimming."

The blonde shook her head. "How is that different from what you do when I'm around?"

Thunder Baby made an argument in his own language, and Lucy finally agreed, leaving the two to fend for themselves.

Lucy dressed and went on to her appointment, grateful she had a husband that still spoiled her after all the time they'd been together.

As soon as she was gone, Laxus changed and dressed Yuri. "I have to meet my client for a job I'm going on, so you're going to stay with Gramps. And we're not going to tell your mom."

He knew this was a pointless measure, as he'd probably just tell her the next time they had sex, which, he noted, would hopefully be sometime soon.

The baby made a fuss and a half along the way because he wanted to be put down to walk on his own but could not walk well enough to pull it off even holding his father's hand. This led to frustration all around, and by the time they arrived at the guild, Thunder Baby was in what Chelia referred to as 'Evil Baby Dragon Mode.'

No one without experience was prepared to deal with that, so right outside, he put Yuri down and held both of his hands, letting the boy take cautious steps right out in front of the guild until he calmed down.

Laxus felt magic behind him and stood protectively in front of him until he saw who was coming.

"Relax, Dad. This is the last place your son will be in any danger," Gildarts said bending down. "He's huge compared to the last time I saw him. Look at him! Standing up and everything. This little guy is pretty cute...Thunder Baby, right?"

By this point, the baby only really responded to Thunder Baby and seemed to treat the word "Yuri" with as much glee as the word "dish" or "table." It held no meaning for him.

Yuri smiled at the older man and this defeated the great Gildarts on the spot.

Gildarts opened the door and took one of Yuri's hands and led him into the guild, where the boys eyes looked over the situation with complete curiosity.

There was noise, there was violence, there was all kinds of insanity, and his little mind could barely take it all in. Thunder Baby was filled with wonder as he held Gildarts' hand and the old man pulled him up so he could see better.

The guild quickly silenced as Laxus forcibly disentangled his son from Gildarts and carried him to the bar counter, where Makarov was waiting with open arms.

"My dear Thunder Baby!"

Thunder Baby was honestly outgrowing the stage where he wanted to be held a lot and mostly liked for adults to pick him up for an improved view of the world. He did not want his great-grandfather to snuggle him, and he expressed this with a shriek as he wiggled free from Makarov's embrace.

Laxus caught him when he wiggled off the counter and put him on the floor, holding him up by one hand. "Ugh, it's so filthy here. Please keep him from crawling around on the floor."

"I see your son has outgrown the cute stage of being a baby. Lucky for me there's another coming here in a few months!" he chuckled.

His grandson rolled his eyes. "I just have to meet the client. Can you handle the kid for an hour?"

"I handed you for decades and nothing terrible happened to you, did it?"

His grandson took a deep breath. "Let's see, you got drunk and left me in Clover. I fell off a cliff when I was seven and busted my skull, I got lost in the East Forest for a week...honestly, we'd be here all day and I've probably forgotten half of it behind my broken skull."

"Water under the bridge! This boy needs a haircut."

Laxus looked down at his son and just tried to imagine the hell he'd raise if anyone got near his head with scissors. "I don't think he's ready for that."

"Erza!" Makarov called.

"Yes, Master?"

"Cut this kid's hair, please."

She requipped and had a razorsharp sword in hand.

Thunder Baby looked up at his father, who looked down at him. The boy had no idea what was going on, but his father was scowling so he scowled too.

Laxus said, "Erza, I swear to Mavis I'll turn your crimson hair _crispy_."

Erza dropped her requip. "Our team was going to go on a mission but one of our team members was unable to come with us because she's been impregnated _**again**_."

Laxus really wasn't sure why everyone kept acting like it was his fault. According a calendar, if anyone really wanted to split hairs, it was really probably mostly Lucy's fault. He was slightly intoxicated and therefore claimed no responsibility in the matter of not wearing a condom on that fateful night. Of course, he couldn't defend himself at all. It was always the husband's fault.

All of her team members had registered assorted complaints. Natsu flat asked him to "stop knocking up Lucy" so they could all go on missions together again.

With two little babies, Laxus and Lucy planned on her taking a little more extensive hiatus from work, but he knew she had to tell them that herself because it wasn't going to be well-received at all. She was easily the most beloved member of her team, and he was the jerk that kept taking her out of commission.

Laxus leaned down and spoke softly to his son. It was a mistake, he'd learned, to pick up a child before putting them down and leaving them. This resulted in screaming and tantrums fairly reliably, so he let him stand there on his own. "Yuri, son, look at me. I will be back, okay?"

The boy nodded, although more in response to the fact he knew he'd been asked a question rather than as an answer to the question itself.

Like many babies, if his parents left him in a strange place, Yuri automatically assumed he'd been abandoned forever and that the world was ending. That desperation kicked in as Laxus turned to leave and the baby fell face first on the ground and held onto his father's ankle.

Laxus sighed. "Yuri."

Makarov said, "Just go. He'll calm down once you're gone."

The baby screamed as if in pain until he saw his father walk out the door and then kicked into angry dragon mode, banging the floor with his fists while most of the guild members watched, unsure of what to do. The Dreyar baby was infamously difficult, despite having good parents, and he continued his temper tantrum until Makarov jumped off the counter.

The old man said, "Well, he's never coming back. Your new life is with us."

The baby understood none of this, but being directly addressed interrupted his fit.

"Once you start walking a little better, you can start taking jobs. You should probably join a team so someone can mash up your food for you and tuck you in. Don't let the fact you're a baby hold you back; you're as emotionally mature as most of our members," he said.

Thunder Baby listened, and understood nothing, but was content to give Makarov his attention as his grandfather joked with him about joining the guild.

And then Makarov had the most wonderful idea.

"Mirajane, where is the guild stamp?"

The white-haired mage smiled softly from behind the bar. "Laxus will kill us all," she sweetly said.

While Makarov and Mira argued about what sort of retribution would follow making it official for Thunder Baby, the baby crawled under the tables in search of the dragon scent he did not know. Laxus, he obviously knew, Natsu was like his crazy beloved uncle, and Wendy was with his nanny Chelia often. There was another, and he crawled to the source of it and tugged on Gajeel's pants as he stood between tables.

Gajeel was doing his best to improve things with Levy after they'd been through a rocky point in their relationship. Her primary complaint was that he needed to be a little more gentle, so there he was, trying to ignore the baby.

"Gajeel," Levy hissed.

The iron dragon slayer felt Thunder Baby pull himself up and stand there reaching up.

"Awww crap..what's this kid's name again? Lightnin' boy or boom baby or..."

Levy said, "It's Thunder Baby."

Gajeel stared down at him with the most intimidating look he could muster, and much to his surprise, Yuri gave him one back and accented it with a vicious sounding growl. He extended his hands upward again, and let out another growl. "What's this kid want?"

"He wants you to pick him up, Gajeel. I don't know how you come around telling me you want a family and you want to make a baby and you won't even be nice to a baby that's already here," she answered in annoyance.

Gajeel blushed, hoping no one overheard Levy talking about them making babies, and bent down. Thunder baby held on tight as Gajeel awkwardly lifted him by one hand and held him up.

Thunder Baby wasn't really hurt, but he looked at Gajeel in a way that very clearly said, _You are doing this wrong._

He grabbed him by the other hand, and started to move him around, and Thunder Baby decided it was kind of fun and he let out a shriek of amusement as Gajeel swung him.

And Gajeel had a little confidence as he swung the baby around a little.

Levy was kind of relieved to see her boyfriend and the love of her life suddenly capable of delighting Thunder Baby. Snuggling the baby seemed lost on him, but he could play with him well enough. They growled at one another and he threw the baby up in the air, catching him gently.

Thunder Baby was happy to have a new friend and repaid him for the good fun by becoming motion sick and barfing all over the floor in front of him, narrowly missing both him and Levy.

Levy couldn't help but to giggle at the two and when she got the diaper bag, she put a new outfit on the baby. Thunder Baby's head tilted back and forth as he dizzily watched the world spin. "That was cute. I wonder if he gets motion sickness, being a dragon. I wonder if our babies would too."

"Our babies, huh?"

Gajeel picked Thunder Baby back up, realizing it was helping him out with Levy.

"You're too cute with babies, Gajeel. I can't quit you anyway."

Levy went to go get some paper towels to clean up the floor and Gajeel gave the baby a pat on the head and said, "Thanks, little guy. You helped me out there with my lady. I think we should be friends, okay?"

The young couple spent most of the next half hour giving him attention as they talked about having babies, and Thunder Baby was on his best behavior as he sat on the table between them until he crawled down the table and took a fistful of Erza's cake while she joined the argument about baby stamping at the bar.

He ate half the strawberry cake with his bare hands, made an enormous mess while he did it, and then crawled further down the long table until he arrived in the middle of the Raijinshuu, a group that would always—unapologetically—spoil him to death. Bixlow had him giggling with his dolls in mere minutes while Evergreen and Freed wiped cake off his face, hands, and arms.

Makarov approached the baby with the guild stamp around the time they finished.

Freed clutched the baby close. "Master, think of what Laxus is going to do."

"He'll get over it. Hand over the baby. It doesn't hurt. I don't see what the big deal is."

Freed answered, "The big deal is that you are putting a guild stamp on a baby. Like, Thunder Baby is literally a baby. He can't walk or talk and he wears a diaper. He's too young to join a guild."

"He's a member of Fairy Tail, is he or is he not?"

The Raijinshuu consulted one another over a series on uneasy glances, knowing that their leader was going to be furious, but also knowing that this was a family dispute. So they handed the baby over and distanced themselves from Makarov.

Makarov took off the outfit Levy had just put on and Thunder Baby was all right with this, because he didn't like wearing clothes anyway.

They stood on the table together, and while Thunder Baby was an excessively tall baby, Makarov was an excessively short grandfather.

"Where do you want it? Bicep? Over your heart? Maybe on the end of your tongue like your Uncle Bixlow?" Makarov chuckled at how Laxus might respond to that. "Right where your daddy's is?"

None of this meant anything to the baby, and he tried to brush the mark off when it was stamped on his chest. When it didn't work, he lost interest and crawled back to where Erza was sitting in front of a demolished piece of cake so that he could complete his work there. She gave him a look that would have made most grown men cry, but he was undeterred because her cake was delicious.

And then, he fell asleep in the middle of the table.

Laxus stepped in the door exactly one hour after he left the boy and found his son drooling with his mouth open as he slept half naked, covered in cake, and...

…

…

…

 _Guild stamped_.

"I was gone for one hour. One fucking hour," he growled at his grandfather.

Makarov burped. "But we didn't cut his hair."

"Get rid of it!"

The older man shook his head. "There have been too many Fairy Tail banishments in this family."

"How are you drunker than when I left? First of all, it's noon. And second, you're supposed to be watching my son."

"I watched him. Honestly, what went so wrong?"

Laxus pointed at his son, "He apparently joined a guild, Gramps."

Makarov shrugged. "Is there any other guild he'd join?"

"He's a baby. Fairy Tail is a guild full of crazy drunks that party, eat, and pass out in the middle of guild hall," he complained.

Makarov pointed at his great grandson who was, at the moment, passed out happy on a table in the middle of the guild.

Laxus narrowed his eyes. "This is why you don't get to babysit."

Thunder Baby drowsily sat up, happy to see his daddy again. Laxus listened to mixed reports about all the excitement that had unfolded and brought a hand to his face.

When they got home, they went swimming in the lake, which is to say Laxus swam and Thunder Baby laid on his chest or was held against him constantly. Laxus really wasn't sure how to tell his mother he'd joined a guild during their mans' adventure, and hoped she wouldn't consider this the next time she needed to leave them alone.

Thunder Baby didn't seem to care at all and was having a pretty amazing baby day. It was hard to be upset when one's baby was happy, and the guild experience actually seemed to be pretty enjoyable to him overall.

"So, that's Fairy Tail."

The baby floated in the water in his safety vest, staring at his father.

"I was raised in the guild, which is why you aren't ever there," he said.

Thunder Baby returned a mouthful of baby talk, and his father rolled his eyes. "Of course you feel that way. You ate a whole slice of cake. And not only cake, but Erza Scarlet's cake. Like, you don't even know what a badass you are. There's no man brave enough to do that. I think you have no concept of fear at all."

Laxus had seen a baby his age at the park that was scared of their own shadow, but his child was an entirely different breed of baby.

Thunder Baby splashed him and he splashed the baby back.

Laxus let this go on until his son was so tired he fell asleep mid-splash and took him in, changed him, and put him to sleep.

The baby stayed asleep until dinner time, ate, and was playing quietly in the living room when Lucy finally came home.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"I'm pregnant, so yes," she answered.

Laxus fixed her a plate and she reflected on how happy she was that he'd learned how to cook meals that weren't awful. Baked chicken, rice, broccoli...she felt like she was starving as she devoured it.

Her husband watched her devour her food and grinned. "You had a good day?"

Lucy nodded. "So I have something to tell you."

"I have something to tell you too."

The blonde apprehensively smiled. "You go first."

With a sigh, he admitted, "So I left Yuri at the guild for an hour. I really didn't think anything too terrible would happen, but he's officially a member of Fairy Tail."

"Master?"

"You know it."

Lucy wasn't really that upset about it. She'd known her son had some kind of a future in magic when he started eating electricity out of the wall sockets.

She squeezed his hand. "So I've been worried about how different this pregnancy is from the last one. The reason I'm late is because I swung by Porlyusica. She did what she does with my blood and potions and spells."

His face melted with worry, because as happy and as exciting as pregnancy could be, it was also a scary time. A lot of things could go wrong and since their kids were coming a little close together, he was more worried than he knew he should have been.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

His wife grinned. "Everything's great. Just different. Porlyusica said every pregnancy can be different. She was also able to use a spell to find out the baby's gender. We're going to have a little girl."

He smiled back at her and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "A daughter...that's perfect. I'm really happy with that."

"Me too. That way when you guys are doing your stupid man day stuff, she and I can do our thing too."

"Stupid man day stuff?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Laxus, you knowingly list burping and walking around shirtless as man's day things."

The infant crawled through the kitchen and pulled himself up. "Mamaaaaaaa!"

Lucy pulled him up and gave him half a dozen little kisses. "It kills me when he does that. I wonder what his next word will be. Maybe Dada?"

 _(It would be 'NO!')_

Laxus reached over and tickled the boys feet, causing him to squeal. "You know he has no idea what his name is, right?"

Lucy laughed nervously. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice that."

"You have raised our baby to believe his name is 'Thunder Baby.'"

She laughed again. "At least I didn't let him join a guild."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _Special thanks to guest, thefangirlingfanboy, boyceashlee, silverghostkitsune, xxshyxx, ytygr, moflo01, totalqt91, cuneiform, numinous-alqua, sidjr100, killer-kelly420, ladyallyssa, arouraleona, mewhee89, misty shayba, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, kurahieiritr JIO, adabs18, megumiyoung, yumeyumi1986, miss dany, thornado, chan19, aoutre, katekat2001, and paname for reviewing!_


	21. The Baby Turns One

It was night before their son's first birthday party.

Lucy felt a great sense of satisfaction at the different layers of colorful cake as she put them into the oven. She wasn't really a baker, but she loved her little boy and she didn't want anyone else to bake his first birthday cake. It was an accomplishment to make it through the first year, and as she looked back, she couldn't imagine how she ever lived without her little baby boy. Well, _toddler_ , officially in the morning.

Lucy wanted everything to be perfect for his party so their house was filled with yellow and blue balloons and crepe streamers. It was perfectly clean, perfectly decorated, and she was so excited to celebrate this milestone with their precious son.

When she closed the oven, she smiled at her husband, who was licking cake batter off the spoon she'd used for stirring. "I hope it turns out all right. What if it's lopsided or I don't decorate it right or something?"

"It'll be fine. Besides, Yuri doesn't care how food looks at all. He's probably going to demolish it with his bare fists and smear it all over himself like eating cake it is some dragon war ritual," he smeared cake batter on her cheek.

She waved off his awkward invitation for affection, and he grabbed her by the hips and licked the batter off her cheek as she giggled at the sensation. He then she kissed his wife, who was now five months pregnant with their daughter.

Lucy enjoyed his affections for a moment, but quickly turned to the task at hand. She followed a recipe to make icing and due to a mishap where he attempted to tickle her while she was using a beater, powdered sugar ended up all over the kitchen.

With a shake of her head, she said, "You can't stand for me to not pay attention to you, just like our son."

Laxus reached for a bowl of blue icing and she smacked his hand with a spoon. "You never let me have any fun, Mom," he teased.

His wife pointed to her belly. "Let me remind you that due to you and your fun, I'm currently five months pregnant with our second child, Dad."

Like many couples, they were slowly falling into the pattern of referring to one another as 'Mom' and 'Dad' simply because that's what they were within the family. Laxus considered it the highest term of endearment in the world, because it reminded him that he had a family, and he was the dad. She was likewise the mother, and they had babies.

Still...

"Pregnancy is still such a turn on," he purred.

Lucy pointed the spoon at him as if it were a weapon as he approached. "I have a cake in the oven!"

"...not all you got in the oven, Babe," he gestured to her belly.

"Go away. You are such a distraction!"

Laxus pointed to the timer on the oven. "I can make you cum twice before they're done," he purred as he grabbed her by the hips and put her up on the kitchen counter.

"What if Chelia comes out of her room?"

"She won't. Wendy's up there with her."

He hands slid up her little dress to her panties and he pulled them downward and knelt in front of the counter.

Lucy leaned back on her hands as she felt his fingers first, then his tongue. The longer they were together, the more he learned her body, so at this point when he had a mind to make her orgasm, he knew just how to accomplish that. The way he moved his tongue over her clit, two fingers sliding deep into her and angling upwards...her legs jerked at the sudden pleasure.

Laxus rubbed himself through his pants as he worked her over with his mouth. She liked for him to use his teeth a little, especially his fangs on her labia, and let out a moan at the contrast of his sharp tooth scraping on the skin he'd just been sucking and licking. He then zeroed in on her clit and sucked it until she came.

He really was trying to be good, but Lucy really didn't like having sex with her clothes on at all, so when she started to feel the need to have him inside of her, she pulled her shirt over her head. He snatched her from the counter and put her flat on the table, where he made short work of their clothes and grabbed a bowl with remnants of cake batter.

He drizzled it over her stomach and breasts, and while he was licking it off, she giggled at the tickling sensation but was pulled down quickly into moaning as his hands moved over her with practiced ease.

Due to her belly, she ended up on top of him, and he thrust up into her as she leaned back on his legs. He set a pace that suited a ravenously horny pregnant woman and held her hands to help steady her.

Lucy tightened her grip on his hands and her thighs started to tremble slightly, so he picked up the speed and power of his thrusts. It was an art to arrive at the same moment, but one of the most fantastic things about being married is that they were perfect at this particular practice.

They came in the most wonderful and messy sort of way, and for a couple of minutes, they lay resting on the table.

The timer on the oven dinged and Laxus helped her off the table, collected her clothes off the floor, and then let her sit and recover while he removed the cake layers from the oven.

Panting, she did her best to wipe up. "You're so gross, Laxus. I'm sticky from cake batter and..."

He snorted in amusement at this comment and grinned at her. "Baby batter?"

"Ewww...really? You have to ruin cake too?"

"It makes sense if you think about it. Cake batter makes cakes. So what would babies be made from? Besides, depending on how long you've neglected me, they have kind of a similar consistency."

"You are so disgusting," she said with a shake of her head.

Laxus watched as she went about the business of this birthday cake, seemingly like a mad scientist with dyes and all kinds of strange tools and instruments. Her determination was unmatched as it came together slowly. Even though she was tired, she stayed up late until it was perfect, and although he offered to help, they both knew cake decorating just seemed like an activity he'd be bad at.

So he did what he would usually do and sat on the counter so he could antagonize her while she worked.

"You're cute like this," he said.

"Like what?" she absently replied, her attention focused on the cake.

He smiled, knowing he was six seconds from her wrath. "Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. I might keep you like this forever," he teased.

But really he _did_ like her like this—in a little skirt, belly swollen, cooking. It appealed to him on a somewhat basic level.

Lucy hit him on the top of the nose with a spatula covered in icing. "NO."

"Why not?"

"Well, let's see. First of all, I have a career. And I'm going back to that career as soon as I push this kid out and get back into shape and maybe weaned and...I don't know, but I'm a wizard. Second, having babies wrecks my body. I had just gotten it back right, and boom, pregnant. And I don't know if you've noticed, but it's a little different this time."

Laxus looked down at her hips, which had seemingly widened during this pregnancy much more and much earlier than the last. "Kind of hard to miss that."

The blonde added, "Third, just...ugh. I can't stand that smug look on your face. I'll deny you out of pure spite and have no regrets."

He scrunched his face up and sighed. "I do kind of want a big family. That's not weird, is it? I know we had a plan where we'd have a kid and jobs and all that nonsense, but in practicality it doesn't work that way. I don't think you really like going out of town on jobs when you have a kid at home."

This was true, but Lucy really didn't want to hear him say that and she really wasn't ready to talk about it. It was alarming and bothersome to realize that after becoming a mother, she didn't enjoy what she'd spent her whole life trying to do. She kept telling herself that as a confident, modern woman she could have both, but wizarding involved being far away. It was dangerous.

She didn't answer him, and he didn't press any further.

Laxus really didn't ever want to take anything from her, but becoming a parent changed life in so many ways that they both had some different priorities. There were some fights he hadn't started because he wanted to make sure his son grew up with his father, for instance.

Lucy was quiet for a while, but eventually refocused herself on the birthday cake, which turned out even better than she imagined. She was supremely pleased with herself, and after a shower, they went to bed.

XXX

At the first sign of light, Yuri was up and trying to climb out of his bed.

Laxus was there waiting in his pajamas (necessary since a teenage girl lived in the house) with his outfit for the day in hand, knowing his little son would wake up earlier than was sensible screaming 'Mama.' It was their habit that when he was home, he would interrupt this process by getting him up keeping him entertained.

"Good morning."

"Dada! Goomomo!"

Yuri was always excited to see him in the morning, as if they'd been apart for a long time. The sheer enthusiasm he felt to be a little boy who loves his parents was enough to make Laxus grin, even if it was 6:03 am.

"You ready to come out of jail?"

Lucy kept telling him to stop referring to the crib as jail, but to him, it had bars and they put Yuri in it to keep him out of trouble, so it basically was a little baby jail. Sometimes when he put the toddler in his crib he acted like he'd just gotten a life sentence.

Laxus got him out of the crib, changed him, put him down on the floor.

Thunder Baby jumped full-force and hugged Raijin the tiger as she slept protectively next to his crib. "Goomomo Waiwai!"

Yuri really hadn't had much of a 'walking' phase. He crawled, and walked for about a week, and then graduated to running everywhere, all the time. Porlyusica believed this was due to his dragon genes. He was actually pretty fast and his parents often found themselves chasing after him. Other parents would see him and remark, "Oh, he's one of those."

He could walk, run, climb, and knew quite a few little words. He knew the names of people he saw every day or close to it, but some he had given nicknames. "Kawi" was Aquarius, "Na-Na" was Natsu, "Chewwy" was Chelia, "Whenny" was Wendy, "Waiwai" was the tiger, "Gams" was Makarov. He also knew a couple of dozen small words for items he came into contact every day.

His favorite word was 'poop.' He learned to say it before 'Dada.' Laxus still had an issue with that.

His newest phase was 'Do Everything Like Daddy.' They already looked just alike, from the eyes to the crazy hair. It was frustrating at times that Yuri went so far as wanting to dress like Laxus, but the rest of it as way too adorable to his father. Laxus could deny him nothing.

He walked with his son to the bathroom as had become their custom and let him observe a grown man's routine.

When he stood in front of the toilet to pee, his son stood next to him. Thunder Baby was nowhere near ready to give up his diaper career, but Laxus felt like this would make it easier later on. Routine, as a whole, as helping their son level off quite a bit and be less complicated. He wetted their hands, and then soaped them up, and they washed their hands together. Laxus put toothpaste on his toothbrush, and baby toothpaste on his son's and sat Yuri up on the bathroom counter.

They brushed their teeth together, and after they had a couple of minutes of self-brushing (during which Yuri mostly just chewed on his toothbrush), Laxus took Yuri's toothbrush and gave him a good brushing. Yuri grabbed his father's toothbrush as it hung from the corner of his mouth and tried to brush his father's teeth, but mostly just almost gagged Laxus instead.

Laxus had his mouthwash, and he had baby mouthwash for his son, who held it in his mouth and waited to spit it out, which typically made a mess. Sometimes he would swallow, but he really did seem to enjoy be allowed to spit everywhere because normally, that pissed his parents off a bit.

His father flossed, and even though the baby's teeth didn't fit close together yet, he did the same for him just so he wouldn't throw a dragon fit when that time came.

Yuri's favorite man thing to do was shave, and Laxus wiped their faces with a wet washcloth, and lathered both with shaving cream, then offered Yuri his little plastic razor.

Laxus tilted his head up to shave his chin, and Yuri did the same.

"It's going to be a while before you start needing to do this. I think I was like eighteen before I started growing chin hair. I really don't have much going on, and I couldn't grow a beard if I tried, but nobody needs to know that. Don't worry though, you'll have a forest in your armpits by the time you turn fourteen and that's not even the strangest place you're going to end up with a lot of hair," he said.

Yuri watched him trim his sideburns and tried to mimic the action.

"Did you just ask why does Gams have a beard and a mustache? I can't even believe you'd play that card. I don't know why everyone compares me to that old geezer anyway. Who cares if Gams can grow a beard? I don't."

Of course, his one-year-old son had said nothing about Laxus' inability to grow a beard. Somehow, he knew his father was going on about something stupid and looked in the mirror so he could focus on 'shaving' his perfectly smooth baby face.

Laxus leaned over him and said, "Maybe it's because all the hair moved from his head to his face. I'd honestly rather be beardless forever than bald."

He ran his finger over his upper lip and looked down at his toddler son. "I bet I could grow a mustache. Mom would be pretty pissed. It would almost be worth it just to see her face. Maybe I'll do that on my next long job. Come home with an ugly mustache all curled up at the ends. She'd probably scream and have Crabby Scissorhands get rid of it."

"Mama?"

Yuri didn't know anything else but that his father had spoken _the word above all words_.

He broke out into an excited flurry of baby talk at the mention of his mother and at the end of the wildly strung together syllables, squealed, "Mama!" and clapped his hands.

Laxus smiled at his son. "That's how I feel about her too."

After the shaving cream was washed away, Laxus got his son's hair a little wet, added some gel, and combed it up like his, then did the same with his own hair.

They got dressed for the day in button-down shirts and black pants with black shoes and when he tucked Yuri's shirt in, the boy pulled it out immediately and looked at how his father's shirt hung freely. This was a violation of the Be Like Dad trend, and they both knew it.

"No chance in hell your mom is going to let you walk around with an untucked shirt."

He tucked the shirt back in, and again, Yuri yanked it out.

Laxus grumbled a curse word under his breath and tucked his own shirt in for the first time in a long time. Except when wearing a suit or tux, he never, ever did this. But he knew if he didn't, their son was going to keep messing his outfit up and might become so frustrated he took all his clothes off completely.

"The things I do for you..."

XXX

Thunder Baby's first birthday was quite a wonderful day for him. The toddlers he knew from his class were invited, so they played in the front yard while his favorite adults came and went. There was a mountain of cutely wrapped toys and everyone who came was there for him and he knew on some level that he was the center of attention.

Despite the fact he liked to give his parents hell at times, as his parents watched him with the other kids, they saw he really was a nice little boy. He didn't snatch toys and he engage in pointless biting, scratching or hitting. This was probably a good thing because Thunder Baby was quite a lot larger than his peers and most of them were older than he was.

One of the other little boys, however, was kind of a bully and he pushed over a little girl and took her toy, causing her to cry.

Lucy looked around at the parents. "What a little jerk. I wonder if his parents are going to do anything?"

"Doubt it. I always wonder if parents know when their kids are being assholes," Laxus answered.

"Why wouldn't they?"

The other parents were in clusters all across the yard, eating and drinking punch, and there were kids everywhere.

Her husband leaned against the porch where they were standing and said, "I don't think people know when they have ugly babies, so maybe it's the same thing. To them their babies are cute but to us their babies are actually kind of gross looking. Yuri looks like me, so he's handsome. Not every kid is that fortunate."

"Okay, first of all, we _do_ have a very handsome son and he does happen to look like you. But second, as a parent, you can't call another person's baby ugly."

"Not to their face, but really, look at that one."

Lucy slapped his arm. "Laxus!"

The mayhem amongst the toddlers escalated and while the little girl cried, Thunder Baby sat down next to her, seemingly very bothered that she was crying. And then he got up, pushed the bully toddler down, and reclaimed the toy, which ceased the girl's crying.

Lucy leaned forward. "Should we tell him not to do that? Push people down?"

"Let him have his moment, Mom."

For the rest of the afternoon, where Thunder Baby went, the little girl followed. He seemed confused by this, but didn't do anything to end it either.

Once the kids had eaten cake, run around like madmen on a sugar high, and were on the verge of passing out, the parents started to take them home.

Thunder Baby was fighting sleep himself but when it was time for the little girl to go home, she stopped to give him a big hug. His parents watched in wonder as their son stood there as stiff as a board, hands at his sides, looking almost terrified. This was the first time they'd ever seen him look nervous.

It did not help that his Dreyar eyebrows tended to exaggerate his facial expressions somewhat.

Lucy burst out laughing at her son. "The signs of early onset Laxusism..."

"Poor guy," Laxus mumbled, bringing a hand to his face.

The girls disapproving father snatched her up and mumbled something under his breath and for quite a while, Yuri didn't move at all. He just stood there looking confused.

"Bye-bye!" she called.

Lucy collected her son from the front yard and took him in for a bath while Laxus and Virgo began the monstrous task of cleaning up the mess.

Thunder Baby was sitting amongst the bubbles while she sat on the edge of the bathtub when she addressed him.

"So let's talk, son. Let me remind you that one year ago today, I gave birth to you. I carried you in my womb, I breastfed your little fanged self, I stayed up so many nights because when you were born, you were really dead set on making sure we died from sleep deprivation, and now that you're a whole year old...suddenly you're hugging other girls?"

The toddler looked up at her blankly, and then smiled. "Mama!"

She leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I knew you'd see things my way."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _Special thanks to totalqt91, guest, supercrazyperson, LuthielxXxLight, Goomy, yumeyumi1986, megumiyoung, balerion, angela magic, aryillia, thornado, sidjr100, Misty Shayna, ArouraLeona, xxShyxx, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, aoutre, guest, ladyallyssa, katiekat2001, mewhee89, guest, katieboom, lucyxanyoneshipper, sympathyspathway, and edolevy for reviewing!_

 **AN:** So my buddy xxShyxx is sponsoring a LaLu costume contest. There are prizes and it seems really cool, so you can check it out at the Laxus x Lucy deviant art group, tumblr at starts and thunderstorms, or PM for more information.


	22. The Anniversary

On this, the night before their second anniversary as a married couple, Lucy laid on the couch to rest her back for a minute, worn down from carrying an unborn baby girl who was a mere month from her due date while still chasing their energetic son all over.

Their sixteen-month-old son climbed up onto the sofa and then onto her belly. His acute dragon ears heard the telltale swishing he'd learned to recognize and pushed Lucy's shirt up over her belly, staring intently at her belly with great concentration. He put his hands here, and there, and then pressed his ear against his pregnant mother so he could hear the heartbeat and movements inside of her womb.

Lucy guided his hands to the kick, and he squealed excitedly. The loud noise, in turn, caused the baby to jump a little. This just got him more excited, and he listened with an expression of sheer wonder and joy. Thunder Baby didn't have a clear understanding of what was going on, but it was amazing and mysterious.

Lucy looked up at Laxus, who was, at present, trying to build a fire in the fireplace. He paused briefly to take in how almost sickeningly cute the sight before him really was. Yuri fawning over his unborn sister was neither new nor was it surprising now that his personality was in full bloom.

It was cold outside, and they expected to introduce their son to snow at some point within the next few days. Magnolia's proximity to the sea usually protected them from cold winters, but this year was an exception.

When the baby settled down, Yuri slid off the couch and went to sit next to his father, who was glaring in dissatisfaction at the logs.

"What's that?" Yuri asked as he pointed.

Laxus was used to this phrase, and he should have been, since he estimated he heard it at least six million and a half times every day. "I'm trying to build a fire. You remember when I taught you about fire? It's hot. Fire is—"

"Na-Na!" the little boy exclaimed, calling out his nickname for Natsu.

His father was grievously irritated with his son's unabashed hero-worship of Natsu. Natsu would show him fire magic and fighting and his son eagerly and happily soaked up his every word. Lightning was—to Yuri—a somewhat more boring power because he was born being able to do it. In his little mind, it seemed normal to breathe lightning. Even he could do it, after all. Now fire? Fire was cool.

Laxus really wanted to take him away from the town and show his son how terrifyingly huge his magic really was, but his wife seemingly read his mind when he first started considering this and forbade him from doing so.

Laxus gave up on doing the fire the 'traditional' way and gave the logs a single puff of lightning, igniting them easily. Then he went down to the basement turn up the furnace to keep their whole house warm, still annoyed by how much his son just loved Natsu as if the fire dragon slayer was the biggest and strongest guy in the whole world.

When he came back upstairs, Lucy was in the kitchen assembling the ingredients for their first living room smores. Chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows were brought on a tray to the living room with a few plates and some napkins. She had three long sticks she'd collected from the yard in preparation for this evening when she went outside to cool off in the bitter cold, which was amazingly comfortable to her in her third trimester.

Lucy wetted the sticks and sat on an ottoman near the fireplace. "We are going to make the best treat in the whole world. It's called a smore."

Laxus sat at her feet on the floor, accepting the sticks as she skewered them with marshmallows. Their son had no idea what was going on, but they were stabbing marshmallows with sticks, and that looked like good fun for a little boy.

Delight glimmering in his eyes, he messily pushed a marshmallow down and yelled as he did so, although his parents were long-accustomed to the fact that their son yelled whenever he did something that was exciting to him.

Laxus rested the back of his head on her belly and looked up at their son. "And now we burn them."

"Yay!" he happily exclaimed, causing his parents to laugh a little in amusement.

Lucy said, "The trick is holding your marshmallow up high enough that it doesn't get completely burned up, but close enough to the first that it still gets cooked."

Laxus put his stick beneath the toddler's and held it steady that way since Yuri didn't really have the coordination to do so, and they watched him as he watched the marshmallow on his stick start to turn brown.

"Wow!"

And then they looked at each other and exchanged a knowing—and loving—grin.

When the marshmallows were done, Laxus took his and his son's sticks and Lucy said, "And now, we blow on the marshmallows. Like this," she huffed and Yuri watched carefully, and then tried to replicate, half-blowing, half-spitting all over the marshmallows and his dad.

"And then, you take a graham cracker, and a square of chocolate, and another cracker, and squish, then pull," she explained as she demonstrated.

Yuri watched as his parents made their marshmallows into smores, and then when they were confident they'd cooled enough, gave him one.

The boy took a big bite of toasted marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker treat and lit up happily. "Mama!" he exclaimed, offering his smore to her. She bent down and took a bite, and he watched her to see if she liked it as much as he did. And then he repeated this with his dad, and they all came to the conclusion that they were smores-loving family.

Unsurprisingly, he ended up ridiculously sticky and messy.

Laxus looked around at their house, and then at his family, and realized he was probably the happiest bastard in the whole world. There were pictures all over the walls, starting from the day they spent at the zoo to their engagement pictures to the pictures that were taken on the day their son was born.

He felt Lucy rub his scalp through his hair and he looked up. "You were craving smores, weren't you?"

"You know it," she admitted with a grin.

"I have a craving," he nonchalantly said, giving her the slightest sideways glance.

The blonde gave him a soft, loving smile. "No reason we can't all be satisfied tonight. Can you get this guy bathed and in bed while I freshen up?"

Laxus nodded. "He's about to get the quickest bath of his life."

"Don't forget his ears. And his toenails – can you handle that? I don't want this to be like his hair. Maybe get yours too while you're at it."

At mention of the word 'hair,' their son made a somewhat ugly face and touched his shortened hair. That day had been hard for everyone—first for Yuri, but then for everyone else. He made sure of that.

Laxus looked at his bare feet, then at his son's. He picked up his son and said, "Mama wants to cut everything, doesn't she?"

"That's what you'll be saying if you ever get me pregnant again," she answered.

Her husband rolled his eyes. "You love it too much."

"Whatever. Not in front of the baby."

"He has no idea."

She kissed her son goodnight. "Mommy loves you, sweet Thunder Baby."

"Lovuuuuuuu, Mama," he answered, kissing her on the cheek.

Laxus bathed his son, clipped all the offending toenails, and read his son his favorite story which was, annoyingly enough, about a little fire dragon who wouldn't go to sleep. Sometimes—purely out of spite—he added details to the story here and there.

"And then, when the little fire dragon was on his way to the castle, he met another dragon. A bigger, stronger dragon. It was a thunder dragon, and the little fire dragon knew him and always asked him to fight. But the thunder dragon is a much stronger, fiercer opponent. The reason he doesn't fight the little fire dragon is because the princess will make his life hell," he explained.

Laxus turned the page and Yuri gave him a look that was amazingly dubious for a toddler.

Laxus pointed to the beautiful blonde princess. "If the thunder dragon fights the fire dragon, the princess will make the thunder dragon sleep outside for at least a month. And he won't be able to go in the garden. The thunder dragon likes the garden and he doesn't want to make the princess angry."

Yuri was really more interested in the pictures, so he took the book and settled down with his blanket, convinced his father was more likely than not talking nonsense. He opened the book and held it upside down, speaking in baby talk as if reading.

"Abbadagahaba BOOM!"

And his father realized that like all little boys, his son didn't want to hear a romance. He just wanted to know stuff got blown up in the end, and he was satisfied.

"I think your version is better," he said after his son finished.

Laxus tucked him in, marveling briefly at the sheer depth of the bite marks all over his son's crib. "Please stay in bed tonight. I don't want to wake up again and find out my baby dragon has escaped from jail and has spent his pre-dawn hours riding a tiger through the house."

Was he going to stay in the bed? No. They both knew that now that he'd learned that he could, there was no stopping him.

Laxus gave him a kiss and tucked him in carefully.

"Goodnight, son."

"Good-ni, Daddy."

Laxus went upstairs and took a quick shower before he joined his wife under the covers. "Two years of marriage. You know, I think we might be good at this."

Lucy snuggled up to him, and he rubbed her belly. "I think that sometimes too. You and I make a great team. Have you noticed that Thunder Baby is a really good kid? I had him at the park the other day and he was just a good little guy and I was so proud of him. I think he's going to be a really good man someday."

"I kinda like the little guy. I wish he'd get over his baby-crush on Natsu. How in the name of living fuck did I have a kid who idolizes another man?"

His wife shook her head. "You guys are both ridiculous men. Falling all over yourselves to impress a little baby boy."

"Natsu needs to have his own kid and stop using ours to fill the void in his life."

Lucy sat up and pulled her nightgown over her head. "He and Lisanna are talking about it. I hope they do. I keep waiting for a guild baby boom, but nothing. Levy and Gajeel are trying right now, but you know how they are. How about Erza and Jellal?"

Laxus shook his head. "And then the authorities ask if she's had contact with the country's most-wanted criminal and she denies and they ask, 'Ma'am, where did you get that ugly blue-haired child?'"

"Ugly? How do Jellal and Erza have an ugly baby?"

"Jellal."

His wife answered, "He's..."

"What."

"...hot."

Laxus sat up and stared into her eyes. "He's what?"

"If you think about it, by blaming Jellal for their imaginary baby being ugly, you're admitting you think Erza is attractive," Lucy bit back.

Laxus' eyebrow twitched. "It's not what I think. It's a popular opinion that Erza is gorgeous. Jellal isn't famous for being a GQ model. Who even knows what Jellal looks like?"

"It's not like he hides his face because he's ugly."

"Well then maybe he should have killed less people."

His wife shook her head in resignation. "Are we going to have sex or are you going to complain to me about other men all night? Because if that's the case, this pregnancy just has me so tired and I think I should go to sleep."

Laxus kissed her quickly. "Of course. I have an idea to fuck out of that cute little head of yours."

"How condescending."

"It's okay, poor little girl. I know you're just having a blonde moment, but I hope you're ready to have the blond moment," he said, tickling her.

They wrestled a little and had a tickle fight, and she beat him up with a pillow before crawling on top of him. After a brief amount of foreplay, she slid down on him and leaned back on his legs as he thrust up into her.

She was halfway to heaven when he suddenly froze, eyes bugging out.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Laxus grimaced. "Someone just pinched my toe."

Lucy turned slowly, and there was their son, standing at the end of the bed looking quite perplexed.

"Goomomo."

His mother carefully dismounted and pulled the covers up to cover herself. "Son, it's not morning."

Laxus slid out from between the covers and put his boxers on, amazed at how quickly and how completely his son had wrecked his erection. He briefly wondered how he was ever going to have sex when they had two little ones running around, and then he took his son downstairs for a glass of water so Lucy could dress.

Their son ended up sleeping with them in order to keep him out of trouble. Even Yuri knew he'd have no 4am tiger rides if he had to escape from his father's arms to do that.

The next morning, Laxus took his son through their routine. He peed, and this time, his son did the same in the general direction of his potty.

This was a milestone, and Laxus was so happy his son had taken a stride toward being free of diapers that he was no longer annoyed Thunder Baby had ruined his night.

Laxus praised him, gave him a high-five, and said, "We'll start with this. We'll work on our aim next. When you live with women, aim is very important. Women are very touchy about men and the bathroom. Your mother may say she loves me, but God have mercy on a stray dribble or a toilet seat left up. Your mom thinks she'll fall in if the seat is left up, but your mom clearly doesn't know how big her butt is."

He cleaned up the floor and they went on with their hygiene routine.

They dressed and left the house early. First, they got flowers at the florist, and Laxus let his son help him choose. Red roses were a little over-done and honestly, a little more well-suited to couples that were trapped in the romantic infatuation phase. Laxus and Lucy really hadn't ever had such a phase, and neither bemoaned this. They were simply two people who chose to be together and enjoyed living and loving their way through life together.

And that, Laxus knew, was far more worth a celebration.

It was too the jeweler next, and the man behind the counter looked down at the little boy with disapproval as it wasn't a custom to bring a toddler to such a fancy place. Laxus ignored this.

"It's my anniversary."

The jeweler smiled. "Congratulations. Interested in anything in particular? We have some brand new diamond earrings."

Laxus said, "I can tell you have no children."

"That's right. How do you know?"

Laxus explained, "Earrings are like a challenge to babies. This guy pulled one clean out of his mother's ear."

After some consideration and consulting with his son, they walked out of the store with a yellow diamond heart necklace. He really wanted to take her somewhere for a few days, but with their baby girl due soon, a romantic getaway was on hold for quite a while.

When they got home, the expectant mother was still dozing off, so they made breakfast for her.

Laxus gave his son a single yellow rose. "This is for Mom."

The boy nodded and when Laxus carefully opened the door, holding a breakfast tray, the little boy ran and jumped in the bed, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek.

Lucy opened her eyes and felt her son give her a flurry of sweet baby kisses.

Laxus smiled, "Happy anniversary, Mrs. Dreyar."

"Happy anniversary, Mr. Dreyar."

Please Review!

Special thanks to Thunder Baby Fan, swallowmysoul, Lunastarlady, LucyxHeartfiliaxFan, silverghostkitsune, aoutre, katieboom, thornado, yumeyumi1986, Misty Shayna, sdjr100, ginonymous, Julius Night, adabs18,totalqt91, Numinous-Alqua, kamila-chan, mewhee89, killer-kelly420, arouraleona, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, kurakieiritr JIO, xxshyxx, boyceashlee, Paname, supercrazyperson, wild birdie, miss dany, guest, darklitfaery888, katiekat2001, megumiyoung, and lucyxanyoneshipper for reviewing!

AN: They have baby #2 in the next chappie. :D


	23. The Thunder Princess

The clock struck midnight and Laxus kissed his wife's forehead. "Happy New Year, Honey."

Lucy was drenched in sweat, tired, and was in the process of pushing their daughter's head out. She didn't not care that it was New Year's Day, or that anything else for that matter. After two days of labor, the only concern she had was pushing their daughter from her body.

"Please don't talk to me right now," she panted.

She didn't understand why the baby decided to come two weeks early and then wouldn't come out for two days. It seemed like a very Dreyar thing to do, in the same spirit as her older brother who refused to come out for two weeks and then popped out in half an hour.

Two days in labor was comparative to about six thousand hours of regular time, according to her estimates. She knew that somehow during contractions, some hormone was released that made the passage of time seem ten times slower.

Another contraction came and she groaned, crying out as she felt the familiar burn.

Porlyusica, who looked as tired but not nearly as much as the mother, glanced up. "We're almost there, Mama. Big push."

"STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrragh!" she screeched as she squeezed her husband's hand tightly and felt the amazing sense of relief as the baby was born.

She was so tired and she didn't care at all about anything as she reached out and demanded the newborn.

"Just a minute, Mama," Porlyusica patiently said.

Laxus almost missed this moment.

He'd come home bruised and beaten to pieces from a job a mere three hours earlier to find his wife was in labor. Lucy had been more than a little upset, and she'd all but vowed not to have the baby until he was there, which worked out because the baby seemed to be waiting for him too.

Porlyusica gave her a little pink bundle, and the husband and wife looked adoringly at their little baby girl. Her hair was smooth, and super light blonde like Lucy's. She'd avoided the Makarov eyebrows by way of genetic miracle and had Lucy's cupid-esque lips with Laxus's pretty gray-blue eyes and ridiculous eyelashes.

She was quite a bit smaller than her brother was at birth, although he'd been two weeks late and she was two weeks early.

"Hi there, Layla. I'm your mama, and this is your daddy, and we're really excited to meet you," Lucy softly said, "We love you so much, baby. Welcome to our family."

Lucy unbuttoned her nightgown and lifted their daughter gently to her breast, and felt her latch on although not with as much vigor or urgency as her perpetually greedy brother. Thunder Baby had been enthusiastic about eating from the moment he entered the world and had consistently maintained that enthusiasm throughout his seventeen months of life.

"That's it. Good girl."

Laxus cut the umbilical cord and watched quietly through a swollen eye as mother and daughter enjoyed these first sacred moments together. Their daughter was so beautiful, and she looked a lot like their son did, which made him happy for some reason.

Now that she'd safely delivered Layla, Lucy looked up at her husband's bruised face. "Are you okay, honey?"

"I'm so stupidly happy right now I can't feel a damn thing," he gently answered.

Laxus leaned down and kissed his newborn daughter, then his wife. "You're just the most wonderful woman in the whole world. An amazing wife and mother, and friend. We have a great family. I love you. Thanks for making my day, my year...my whole life."

"I love you too, you big, lovable dragon."

There was something so magical about the first few minutes of a baby's life, and they watched her every move. Layla's toes twitched a little when Laxus played with her feet a bit, and she squeezed Lucy's finger. They examined her perfectly-formed little body, verifying repeatedly that there were exactly ten fingers and ten toes.

Lucy sniffed and started crying, and he smiled at her softly. During this pregnancy, she'd been so emotional and so it wasn't surprising she'd finish it off on a weepy note. "I'm so glad you made it home." She looked down at the newborn and cried, "We have a daughter...and she's so beautiful."

He made a peculiar face when the placenta passed from her body in the middle of this tender moment, and then he took their daughter into his arms while Porlyusica began the task of cleaning up all that had happened.

Laxus cradled his little girl and stared adoringly at her little face. "Welcome to our family, Thunder Princess."

Lucy heard this and looked up. "What?!"

"Thunder Princess."

"...what's wrong with her name?"

His defiance was playful and he reminded her of how she'd given their son a nickname and then defended it fiercely. "She's my daughter. I can call her Thunder Princess if I want to."

The blonde took a deep breath. "Laxus, you've been waiting for this haven't you?"

"For almost eighteen months," he playfully answered.

Lucy was sure that if she had a ten jewel piece for every time he did something to get on her nerves, she'd be the richest woman alive. And she'd still be annoyed, because even with all the money in the world she wouldn't leave the messy-haired rascal snuggling their newborn baby girl. The sight of Laxus Dreyar with a newborn was so adorable she almost couldn't stand it.

"So if she's the Thunder Princess, what are you? The Thunder King?"

He looked up. "You said it, not me."

The blonde shook her head at him. "I'm just going to ignore this and hope you either get bored with it or grow out of it."

Lucy winced and looked down at Porlyusica. "Can you be a little more gentle? I just had a baby."

Porlyusica glared. "I am aware, although I don't know why. I'm not sure the world needs more like that one."

The old woman was actually the biggest fan of this family, although mainly for Thunder Baby and the relentless misery he brought them in infancy. Outside of that, she actually was a little happy to see that Makarov's socially inept grandson had somehow not only found the only woman who could deal with him, but somehow convinced her to marry him.

Porlyusica stayed for a while, until they'd settled in and everything was fine and peaceful. It was the middle of the night, and Fairy Tail was probably collectively drunk since it was New Year's Day. They elected not to involve any of the others until morning, which seemed like a sane choice. Nobody wanted a drunk Makarov stumbling through the house and on this delicate moment.

They were a somewhat private couple in a lot of ways, and some moments, they didn't want to share with everybody.

Once she left, Laxus laid in the bed with his wife for a while and they snuggled their newborn.

Laxus held her against his chest for a while, listening to her breathing and her little heart and the little sounds she made. "If you asked me now, I'd tell you I wanted to have at least fifteen more kids," he teased.

Lucy snuggled up against him and sweetly answered, "I hear what you're saying, but let me tell you about how my vagina feels about that.."

"Yikes. Probably not necessary."

"Food for thought, Daddy."

Laxus smirked at her and kissed her hair. "Let's go wake up our son."

Lucy smiled and nodded, gently taking Thunder Princess-she cringed at the name and prayed it didn't stick-as he slid from between the sheets and went down the hall to awaken their sleeping son.

This was probably one of the biggest highlights of having a second baby, as they'd been curious about how their son would feel since the moment they knew they were going to have another baby.

Yuri was a little cranky when Laxus got him out of the bed, gave him a cursory sniff to make sure he hadn't had a potty training incident, and carried him down the hall to the master bedroom. He growled in protest and gave his father a glare with one eye half open, the other eye closed.

"Hey son, you're not the baby of the family as of tonight, so you're not allowed to whine anymore. It's time to man up."

Chelia had run his little baby battery down to nothing at the park that day and he was in desperate need of sleep. He didn't understand why his father had disturbed his baby dragon slumber. Dragons did not like to be awoken until they were damn well ready, and the boy continued his assorted grumblings until they got to the bedroom.

When the door opened, Laxus felt his son perk up and stiffen, sniffing the air. There were about a dozen weird smells he hadn't come in contact with before, but when Laxus put him down on the bed, he saw his mother holding the baby.

"Hey son, this is your baby sister, Layla," she whispered.

Yuri plodded across the bed to Lucy, and looked at the baby curiously. His eyes went to her somewhat deflated-looking belly, and his face seemed tense for a minute. "Baby!"

Lucy explained, "This is the baby that was inside Mama."

The boy seemed very suspicious of this whole process and leaned over to sniff her curiously. Her scent put him at ease and excited him all at once, and he reached out to touch the newborn.

"Gentle, son," his father's stern voice called from the other side of the bed.

Yuri barely touched the top of Layla's hair with his fingertips. "Baby's little."

"That's right, she is little, so we have to be really careful not to hurt her, okay?" Lucy asked.

There was nothing a baby loved more than another baby, so Thunder Baby was fascinated by his sister. He snuggled up to his father and the two men watched the two women from their side of the bed.

"Do you remember when we first got married and this bed seemed enormous?" he asked.

"And then kids happened."

Lucy smiled and handed the baby to her husband. "I'm really tired. He can stay. I'm honestly so exhausted I could sleep through the apocalypse."

Laxus kissed her goodnight and then her son did also. "Goodnight, Babe, you're amazing."

"Good ni, Mama."

Thunder Baby had learned that when he was in his parents bed he had to behave if one of them was sleeping or they would put him in his crib, which he could no longer escape from due to Chelia putting cooking oil on the bars he used to climb out.

Laxus and Lucy were fairly certain the things Chelia did to foil their son were not written in any of her books, but were entirely necessary since he was stronger, smarter, and ridiculously strong willed compared to other toddlers. Thunder Baby loved his nanny and yet, he seemed to put serious calculated effort into making her job difficult. In some ways, they seemed to scheme against one another mutually.

Both parents secretly hoped their second baby wasn't quite so 'special.'

Except for a couple of breastfeeding sessions, Lucy slept throughout the night and awoke to find her bed was still full. Laxus was still awake and was watching over their son as he slept curled up next to his tightly-swaddled baby sister to make sure he didn't roll on her or accidentally hurt her.

"That's so cute I can't stand it." Lucy started to move and felt soreness in all kinds of places. "Ouch...help me get to the bathroom, will you? I need a shower if you still love me."

"You've given me two babies. I'll give you anything you want." He smiled at her and got Chelia from her room to look after the babies while he tended to his wife.

Laxus helped her take care of herself and get cleaned up. He washed the sweat out of her hair, and cleaned her gently. Having a baby was nothing short of incredible, and he didn't mind the awkward phase that came after. He could only relate the experience to fighting, because after his worst battles that left the worst marks on his body, he experienced the greatest gains.

By the time they got out, Chelia had taken no less than thirty pictures of the babies in their cute sleeping pose and had put grownup sunglasses on them for her second round of pictures.

The magenta-haired sixteen-year-old looked up at them and asked, "You know what I realized about you guys?"

"What," Laxus asked, apprehensive about the inner workings of the smart but mischievous nanny.

Chelia said, "You know when you go to a shop to buy a picture frame and there's always this sample picture of a gorgeous blond family where everyone is stupidly attractive? You guys are like...the fake family from picture frames. Handsome tall guy, pretty woman, two little blond-haired, blue eyed babies that look like they're sweet enough to eat. And everyone assumes they are not a real family, because they're too cute to be true and they don't want to feel bad about their own ugly family members."

Laxus brought a palm to his face and his wife answered, "If that was a compliment, thanks, I guess?"

Makarov came to visit the new baby around noon, and by that time, they had-as a family-accomplished nothing besides eating breakfast and laying around in the bed. This even applied to the normally-busy toddler, who was completely infatuated with the newest member of the family.

When Makarov entered the house, the baby was on a blanket on the floor in the living room and her older brother was holding an upside-down cardboard-paged book with colors on it as he announced the names of colors and pointed things out he knew how to name. His sister was half-asleep and seemed strangely unbothered by him.

The old man stopped and he and his grandson sat on the sofa and watched his stupidly adorable display of mimicry. Laxus loved his son so he read him books, and Yuri loved his little baby sister so he did the same. He normally tried to read to the tiger, so this was a slight improvement because when the tiger got tired of story time, she just ate the book.

Makarov bent down to pick her up, and Yuri said, "No!"

"Okay, okay, I'll let you read to her," the old man said, "I'll listen too. Is that okay?"

Yuri decided this was acceptable and plopped down on the floor to resume his story.

After a couple of minutes, Makarov furrowed his eyebrows.

Thunder Baby knew the names of all the colors, but he called all of them wrong. He pointed to a big red balloon, and said, "Brue!" and then an orange cake and said, "Yewwow."

This went on for a while, and Makarov looked up at Laxus, who was completely unfazed.

Yuri was a very smart little boy, as evidenced by the fact that he could name so many colors, but they were all wrong.

Makarov gently said, "That's green, boy."

"Is BRUE!"

"Are you out of your mind, little man? That's green. Grass is green."

"Is BRUEEEEE!"

Yuri had reached an age where he had an attention span, and ao he hated to be interrupted. He was annoyed by his great grandfather. First, he tried to take the baby, then he interrupted, and now he was arguing.

Laxus was meanwhile highly amused by this and let it go on for a while until Makarov decided to give up and let his brilliant but apparently confused great-grandson be wrong.

"What is wrong with your son?"

"Deuteranopia."

"What's that?"

"He's color blind," Laxus nonchalantly answered. "Grass _is_ blue to him, for the record."

Makarov slapped Laxus upside the head. "You just let me argue about what color grass is with a color blind baby?!"

"I think it's kind of funny how much he loves books about colors."

His grandfather glared at him. "That's is actually kind of terrible."

Yuri allowed Makarov to pick up the baby once he'd finished his book, and the old man cradled her gently.

"She seems calm," he said.

Laxus nodded. "Thunder Princess has had a calm first day so far. When Yuri was born by the end of the first day we were kind of unnerved because he'd already started screaming. This baby seems to be completely opposite. She has yet to fuss about Yuri hovering around her and making noise."

Makarov touched her soft hair and kissed her little forehead. "She's precious. Princess, indeed. Got her Mama's cute little lips."

"What's wrong with my lips?" he sarcastically asked.

His grandfather answered, "Other than the fact you only have one? It would be a shame for a little girl not to have a top lip. Good thing Yuri's a boy."

Laxus looked down at his son's very thin upper lip and glared at his grandfather.

Makarov smiled at Layla and gently said, "I really hope I don't die before you have your first boyfriend."

He saw the baby's father glower at him.

"This baby is going to be so cute every little boy in the sandbox is going to hold her hand," he said to the baby although he was really teasing her father.

Laxus answered, "Yuri has a little plastic shovel and a bucket. A sandbox seems like a great place to dig a shallow grave."

Yuri climbed into his father's lap to continue his peculiar hovering near his new sister.

Laxus ruffled his hair. "You're gonna help me, right?"

"Yeah!" his son answered, not needing any further details besides the fact his father asked. "Me hep!"

"You remember what we learned? What does a good brother do?"

Yuri swung his fists in the air. "Pow pow!"

Makarov said, "God have mercy on your poor stupid soul the first time he does that in front of his mother."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to yumeyumi1986, Angela Magic, Silverghostkitsune, swallowmysoul, kurahieiritr JIO, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, Thunder Baby Fan, Misty Shayne, Numinous Alqua, Paname, KatieBoom, killer-kelly420, boyceashleee, adabs18, supercrazyperson, thornado, Arylilla, katelyn, mewhee89, xxshyxx, kateiekat2001, lucyxanyoneshipper, xxrainiwexx2001, arouraleona, sldjr100, and megumiyoung for reviewing!**_

AN: Thanks everyone so much for 400 reviews! It touches my heart that you are all enjoying my little story.


	24. The Dragons Ride a Merry-Go-Round

Layla Dreyar was in no way like her brother. If he was an exceptionally difficult infant, she was exceptionally easy. She had a naturally docile, sweet disposition, and liked to be snuggled by anyone. She rarely screamed, even as a newborn, and even her cries were little and cute. Compared to Yuri, she was a piece of cake to handle.

She smiled in her sleep quite often, and she was a little shy. Like her brother, she had a ton of hair, although hers fell into little soft light blond curls. Laxus was powerless to her whims, as she had him completely wrapped around her little finger.

Yuri had hit the magical age where he could make sentences and learned words insanely fast, so suddenly, it was possible to have actual conversations with him although some of the most amusing moments were spent listening to the things that he told his little sister. His most recently learned speech skill involved cause and effect, so he would name something, and then name what happened after that. Sometimes the things he put together weren't logically related at all.

For instance, Lucy once heard her son say, "I like cake. Grass makes me itch."

Laxus came in from a run and found them in the living room. Layla was in her baby chair and Yuri was sitting on the floor next to her, showing her a book that made animal noises.

Lucy was drinking coffee as she watched them, somewhat grateful that having children close together meant they entertained themselves for the most part. She'd been worried when she was pregnant they would have a hard time giving both kids the attention necessary, but most of the time, they were happy to be together.

"Hey kids," he said.

Layla reached her arms up and squealed, and Yuri leaned over and not-so-quietly said, "Daddy runs. Then he stinks."

The boy pinched his nose for emphasis.

Laxus gave his daughter a pat on the head and then picked his son up by his ankles and held him upside down. "What did you say about me?"

"You stink!"

Lucy giggled at them quietly, and Layla seemed to be amused at how ridiculous the men of the house were as well.

"What?"

"You stink!"

Laxus was careful not to swing him around, since he was prone to motion sickness.

"Put me down!"

"Say it."

"No!"

Layla giggled so hard she was almost squealing at what Lucy called 'silly boyish clowning.'

Her son hollered, "Put me down! Mama help!"

Lucy shook her head. "You and Daddy are on your own."

Lucy picked her daughter up and combed her fingers through the baby's curls. "Boys are so silly, aren't they, Layla?"

There was a knock at the door, and Laxus answered it, still holding his screeching son up by one foot as he let Lisanna and Levy into the house. "Good morning, ladies."

Levy looked down at the irate little dragon. "Are we interrupting something?"

Laxus held him up higher. "Oh this? This is a baby dragon having a baby dragon moment. You should both probably get used to it now."

The women, both pregnant, laughed at the two Dreyar males and went into the kitchen with Lucy. Since Lucy was the first one in their group to have children and she had two, she was more or less the seasoned veteran.

Yuri was meanwhile too stubborn to apologize and became silent, crossing his arms out of sheer obstinacy as he he hung upside down.

"I need to pee," he finally said.

Laxus put him down on the floor and the boy went on to the bathroom, so Laxus sat on the couch by himself and was enjoying a rare moment of fleeting peace when Raijin the tiger jumped up next to him and laid her head in his lap. He gave her a back scratch and listened to the women in the kitchen giggling and talking excitedly about babies.

His sharp ears picked up on the discussion that both were having boys.

"I can't wait to see all the babies playing together. Layla with two little dragon boys!" Levy squealed.

Laxus looked down at the tiger, eyebrow twitching. "I know you don't eat babies, but have you ever given it serious thought? Little fat iron and fire dragon babies seem like they'd be tasty, right?" He sighed. "You're right, the iron baby would probably cause indigestion and the fire baby would likely cause heartburn. I guess I'll have to come up with a new plan."

Yuri ran from the bathroom with toilet paper trailing out of his pants and his father stood up and caught him before he ran into the kitchen.

"You have a tail, son."

"Like a dragon?"

"I guess. Well, no, not really. Did you wash your hands?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Cause imma dragon," he matter-of-factly answered, as if it made perfect sense to him. Why would a dragon need to wash his hands?

Laxus hauled him back to the bathroom to make sure he washed up properly. "Dragons wash their hands."

"Dragons go RAWRRRRR!" he said, clawing his soapy hands. And then, while he was rinsing his hands. "I want cereal. Can we go to the park?"

Now that Yuri was able to speak a little better, his parents learned his mind was a twisted compilation of random things: food, dragons, and adventure. Overall, this was what they had suspected all along as he'd grown up.

"I wanna go on the slide."

Laxus put him down and gave him a towel. "You can't go on the slide. It'll make you sick."

"But I wanna."

"You'll puke."

"No!"

"Yes."

His father looked down and narrowed his eyes. "Do you need to argue about everything?"

Yuri looked up at him. "...yes?"

When they left the bathroom, Laxus went to the kitchen to get his son a bowl of dry cereal and overheard talks of wanting to shop.

Lucy said, "I'd love to, but Layla needs to visit the pediatrician and get a shot today."

"I'll take her," he offered.

His wife jumped up and kissed him on the cheek. "You're the best! You want to leave Thunder Baby with Chellia?"

Laxus shook his head. Since he was about to go on a job, he wanted to get some time in with the little ones before he left. Besides, Lucy had been at home so much taking care of their children lately and he wanted her to have an opportunity to go out and take a breather before he left.

He dressed the kids and packed a diaper bag. He'd mostly gotten over the opinions people had about him wagging kids around in public, often by himself. He didn't feel like it made him weak at all, and no one really had the nerve to say anything to his face.

Porlyusica and the pediatrician viewed one another as being equally ineffective and pointless. The doctor called her a witch doctor and she called the doctor an overeducated prat. In a pinch, he'd take the kids to the witch doctor over the prat any day. Said prat also seemed a little intimidated by his son, probably because Yuri wasn't at all a normal boy.

Laxus held Layla against one shoulder with one arm and held his son's hand with the other. It was only two blocks away, but going pretty much anywhere with two kids was an adventure of sorts.

Yuri asked questions, and Layla rested contentedly, making occasional baby talk.

At the pediatrician, they went back to the exam room and the nervous doctor came in and looked at a clipboard. He asked the stereotypical questions, but Dreyar dragon babies didn't get sick and had no physical problems besides a proclivity towards motion sickness.

He put her down on the table. "Hey there, pretty girl. You're growing fast, aren't you?"

Yuri crawled into his father's lap when Laxus sat in a chair and let the doctor do his work. Layla was tolerant of his examination to an extent but started to whine a little when he shined a light in her eyes.

When the pediatrician wiped her arm and gave her the vaccination, the baby started to scream loudly, which was rare for her. "It's okay, you're such a strong gir-"

Yuri jumped from his father's lap onto the pediatrician's back and climbed up like a little animal. He was reaching out to punch the doctor in the back of the skull when he was ripped away by this father.

The pediatrician turned in horror and shock. "What just happened?"

"Nothing. Yuri just wanted to give you a hug," his father quickly said.

"Oh."

Yuri scrunched his eyebrows together and Laxus put his hand over the boy's mouth because he was sure whatever he was about to say was not going to be good.

Once the baby had calmed down and they left the office, Laxus gave his son a glare.

Yuri glared back.

Laxus said, "It's okay for a doctor to hurt someone. That's what they do. They're not as bad as dentists."

"Daddy?"

"Hm?"

"I hate dentists."

"Son, everyone does."

He took them to the park, and sat down under a tree with his daughter in his lap while his son ran wild and free. The playground was a mixture of things Yuri enjoyed and things he enjoyed until they made him puke.

Yuri was colorblind and had terrible motion sickness, yet loved books about colors and slides.

While Laxus was paying attention to his precious daughter, he looked down from his son who was playing with some slightly older kids who hadn't yet figured out the enormous toddler was, in fact, a toddler. He climbed onto the merry-go-round and held on tight like the others, and round and round it went.

Laxus looked up. "Shit."

The interesting thing about dragon slayer motion sickness was that it had a somewhat paralyzing effect. So, for instance, on a boat, Laxus might find himself unable to move even if all he needed to do was jump off the edge of the ship.

Laxus ran to a mother who was watching her children play. "Will you watch my daughter for one minute?"

"S-Sure."

Mostly without thinking, he jumped onto the merry-go-round, grabbed his son, who was listlessly gripping the safety bar as his body hung limp. His own stomach turned violently and in some new and terrible way. Boats, trains, and various other forms of transportation had nothing on this terrifying thing on the playground.

Laxus could barely move as he clenched his eyes shut and jumped off the merry-go-round, sliding on his back into the pebbles with his son on his chest.

He was sure every dragon slayer in the world could be killed pretty easily using nothing but this common children's plaything. It amazed him how the normal children laughed and yelled happily as it turned faster and faster as he and his son lay in the pebbles, fighting the urge to puke.

"For the love of God, son, don't ever get on that thing again."

Yuri sat up and looked at him with dizzy, somewhat crossed eyes. "K."

Laxus quickly returned to claim his daughter, still feeling a little nauseated. The centrifugal motion had been way more than his body could handle and he knew Yuri was equally undone because he was stumbling around like he was drunk.

After Yuri recovered, Laxus returned to his place under a tree and snuggled his little baby girl, keeping a mindful eye on his son, whose eyes continually drifted to the merry-go-round.

His father watched him make his way back to it, but about fifteen feet before Yuri challenged the accursed thing to a rematch, a tiny little shock reverberated through his body.

"Oww…" he mumbled, looking over at his father, who had an expression that communicated without any words at all that he better not take one more step. He lifted his foot up in sheer defiance and Laxus narrowed his eyes.

They both knew if he took that step, it was going to get real.

Yuri was starting to test his limits, but he knew his father was easygoing up to a point. He could be very stern and pissing him off on purpose was a bad idea. He lost the nerve to awaken his father's anger and turned back to the rest of the playground until he was so tired he was getting cranky.

They got home, and Laxus fed both of his babies and put them down for a nap together. They seemed to actually sleep a little better together, and it was always cute. Yuri tended to fight naps, but he'd somehow managed to talk him into believing he was a good big brother if he showed her how to take a good nap. Really, Layla needed no coaxing and never had a problem sleeping, but he estimated a big part of parenting a toddler required tricking them into doing what they needed to do.

After they were asleep, he noticed the baby squirming around and changed her diaper, then laid down on the couch with her on his chest. Layla made a little sweet-sounding baby talk and wiggled into a comfortable position as her father held her gently and rubbed her back

Laxus absolutely adored his baby girl, and she adored him right back. She'd really only inherited his eyes, so when he looked at her, he saw Lucy. She seemed eager to talk, making more baby talk than her brother did, although Yuri was extremely talkative for his age. The thing that made it precious was that she didn't 'talk' to everyone, usually just her parents and her brother.

When Lucy came home, bags in hand, she found her husband sound asleep on the couch with his bare feet hanging off the end. Both of their kids were sound asleep on his broad chest, rising and falling as he breathed.

Laxus opened his eyes when he heard the door close and Lucy bent down to kiss him. Once, twice, three times and he grinned. "Have fun?"

"I did. Looks like you had a good day too. Everything went okay?"

"Perfect."

That night while they were getting ready for bed, Laxus made sure the kids were asleep. In his son's case, he'd taken extra care to exhaust him completely because he wanted to have some uninterrupted time with his wife. It was maybe not the best parenting strategy, but it was fairly normal for he and Yuri to wrestle or do some other activity before bed because if Yuri was tired, he'd usually stay in his own bed and not invade theirs.

Lucy was wearing a bathrobe and getting ready for bed when he went to shower. After he got out and was brushing his teeth and drying off, he spoke through the half-open door.

"Your son tried to punch Dr. Smalls in the back of the skull for making his sister cry," he said.

He heard his wife's voice say, "I wonder where he learned that."

"No clue."

"Then we went to the park, and your son got on the fucking merry-go-round. It was the worst five seconds of my life trying to get him off, and he got that lost cross-eyed look and stumbled around like he'd had too much to drink," he said.

He heard her laughing at the mighty Laxus Dreyar unable to function on a playground for children.

"...and then he wanted to get back on."

"No."

"Yes."

"Imagine that-a stubborn dragon."

Laxus swished the mouthwash around in his mouth and wondered if his son really did inherit that kind of behavior from him. Once he finished, he said, "Layla was really easy, as always. That kid never has a problem with anything."

"She takes after me."

Laxus rolled his eyes. "Babe, you're kind of erratic. You're prone to outbursts. You're very dramatic. Hate to tell you this, but the chill baby takes after me. The crazy one is all you. You're stubborn too."

The unsuspecting husband came out of the bathroom in his boxers, still towel drying his hair a little until he saw his wife.

Lucy was stretched out on the bed in black lace lingerie and stilettos. Her hair was done in messy curls, and she had one black eyeliner and red lip gloss. When he swallowed a little nervously, she grinned. "Come here."

Her husband dropped the towel in his hand on the floor as his mouth gaped open for a minute. "Looking like that, I might come before I get there."

The instant he jumped on the bed with her was the instant their baby started crying. Laxus groaned in frustration, but gave her a quick kiss. "Stay just like this. Don't you move. I'll be back." He kissed her again. "I love you so much, you gorgeous, sexy minx."

Laxus calmed their baby, who had accidentally poked herself in the eye, and run back upstairs for a couple of hours of quality time during which they were thankfully uninterrupted.

Lucy snuggled up to him in the dark once they were finished.

"What?"

"I'm really glad that you're the one I'm sharing my life with. I can't imagine myself living any other kind of way."

Her husband draped an arm around her and kissed her. The longer they were married, the less he cared about everything else in the whole world besides their little family. Someone asked him what he thought he'd be doing if he hadn't married and had babies, and he didn't even consider the thought worth thinking about.

"You're a really good wife, you know. You're so loyal and strong. You're like the glue that holds this whole operation together. You're cute as fuck too."

Lucy still blushed when he talked about her like this. "Even after two kids?"

"I'll still find you sexy after ten."

"Laxus, no."

 _ **Please Review!**_

Special thanks to and Stevem Kurahieiritr JIO, savygirl515, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, thunder baby fan, aoutre, yumeyumi1986, supercrazyperson, crystal3300, Thornado, xxshyxx, katelyn, misty shayna, angela magic, clitastrophe, kamila-chan, ladyallyssa, helenezahl, arouraleona, stormyknight39, thealicehuntt, sidjr100, megumiyoung, katiekat2001, boyceashlee, Lucyxanyoneshipper, and illustre for reviewing!

AN: So, I'm thinking about having a little drama in here somewhere, like maybe show how they deal with a tragedy as a married couple. Like, somebody dies or something. Or I might keep it a fluff dump forever. Open to ideas.


	25. The Dragon and His Tiger

On the subject of "Terrible Two's:"

It was a calm morning three days after Yuri's second birthday, and he was once again awake while his mother and sister and nanny slept on a morning when his dad was on a job. To him, morning started at about 5:05 am, and that was a good time for some Cheerios. Unfortunately, because he kept getting into it, the beautiful yellow box had been moved to the top of the refrigerator.

They had no one to blame but themselves; if you encourage your child to reach for their dreams and their dream happens to be a box of beloved cereal, they're going to reach.

He crept silently to the kitchen with Raijin following quietly. The boy had learned from watching her how to move about without making any sound and much later on in life, some writer somewhere would pen an article and refer to him a 'natural predator of the magic world.'

For now, he was just a little boy who took naps with a tiger, bathed with a mermaid, and was being raised among dragons and celestial spirits. These things were normal to the Dreyar babies.

Yuri got to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, hefted the milk from a shelf, and poured the entire gallon messily into Raijin's food bowl. "Happy Beckfest, Rai-Rai!"

Then, he pushed a chair across the floor as quietly as possible, although the noise still awoke his mother. He climbed from the chair onto the counter, then pushed the coffee machine down the counter, climbed on top of it, and then climbed onto the top of the refrigerator.

Yuri claimed his prize and sat there on top of their refrigerator and ate dry Cheerios straight from the box.

Lucy heard noise in the kitchen and made her way down the stairs, reaching blindly for the light.

They had learned recently that the reason their son wasn't scared of the dark was because he could see in absolute pitch darkness, which was actually a little creepy and scary because sometimes she'd enter a dark room and hear a haunting little voice call, "I see you, Mommy."

Yuri seemed to have figured out this scared the crap out of her, and did it often.

She stood there in her robe and looked around at the mess. There was milk all over the floor, which the tiger was happy to lick up. Yuri was sitting in a place that was completely wrong for a toddler to be in, eating his cereal. "Son."

"Good morning, Mommy."

Lucy could trace his path upward, from the chair to the counter to the coffee machine, and finally the refrigerator, and she wondered why she couldn't just have a normal kid who did weird things like stick beans in their ears.

"Want some cereal?"

Her eyebrow twitched. "Yuri Dreyar, if you don't get down from there right now!"

His eyes widened and his lower half slid off the refrigerator onto the coffee machine to the counter, then the chair, and then onto the floor, all while dragging the big yellow box of cereal with him. It terrified him when his mother raised her voice because if he defied her warnings, he had to deal with Daddy later on.

Nobody wanted it to come to that.

"Can I play with Layla?"

"Son, it's five in the morning."

"K."

Lucy brought a palm to her face. "Are you hungry?"

"I just want cereal."

"Are your hands clean? You're eating out of everyone's cereal."

"I forgot."

One thing they could count on is that Yuri always told the truth. It seemed more honorable to his little childlike mind to openly admit he didn't wipe, hadn't washed his hands, had no intention of staying in bed, or hadn't cleaned up his toys than to just glaze over the details as many would.

Lucy shook her head, took the box, and poured some into a little cup for him, only to turn around and find he was drinking milk of the the bowl with the tiger. "YURI! Get your head out of that bowl right now!"

He sat up and wiped milk off his mouth with the back of his hand. "K."

"Are you thirsty?"

"No, Mama."

"Then why are you drinking out of the tiger's bowl?"

"Cause we're having beckfast."

She took a deep breath and tried to see the upside. At least this time he didn't have his sister who was now crawling drinking out of the bowl with him.

"You can go play quietly in your room until we get up. I don't want to hear any noise, and you better not come out. You like sleeping in a big boy bed, right?"

"Yes, Mama."

Lucy checked in on her daughter and decided to bring her back to the bedroom. It was a day she'd been looking forward to for so long, and yet dreading at the same time. Layla was eight months old and crawling and she hadn't been on a job in what felt like an eternity.

Laxus was due to come in from a job, and she was due to leave. Even with a nanny, they decided not to go on jobs at the exact same time just because their babies still needed at least one parent around. She'd never been away from her daughter overnight, and she was dreading it.

It was really hard for a mother to be away from her kids, so Lucy tried to mentally prepare herself for this moment. She was a little upset that she wouldn't be with her normal team, but Natsu had a two-day-old son named Iggy and was having his own baby experience.

She wondered how he got away with naming the poor kid that, but she didn't ask any questions. Her job would be with Erza, Gray, and Wendy, and she was excited. Lucy had her bag packed, her keys polished, and her body probably in the best shape as it was going to get. There was a part of her that believed that no matter how much weight she lost, her hips were going to stay like that.

Laxus said it was ridiculously hot, but Lucy really just wanted her body to go back to the way it was before. Porlyusica always laughed at her when she said this.

He got home, they spent a little time together, and she dashed out and all but ran to the train station. Waiting on Laxus, she missed the early train everyone else took, and she pouted a little but took the next one out to Hargeon.

She was sitting on the train when a man carrying a sleeping toddler entered the compartment with her.

Lucy smiled at the boy.

"You're a mother. I can tell," the man said.

He was handsome by anyone's standards with thick, short brown hair, big brown eyes and a fit build, but Lucy really had forgotten what it was like to look at guys. "I have a couple of little ones at home."

"Name's Greg. This is my nephew Darwin."

"Lucy."

His voice deepened as he leaned over a little. "Why are you traveling?"

"For work."

Greg smirked a bit. "Surely you must have a husband who provides for the little ones."

"My husband takes good care of me. I work because I want to. We both travel. He was just out of town for a week and now I'm going."

Lucy looked out the window and watched the familiar countryside pass by as she became vaguely suspicious that the man might be trying to make some kind of move on her. Out of the corner of her eye, she stared him down. She wondered if he'd dare if he knew who she went home to at night.

But, men were mostly stupid and he was undeterred by her subtle snarl. "It must be hard being alone so much."

"I have an attention-demanding husband, an overactive toddler, and a clingy baby. I'm lucky if I get enough alone time to go to the bathroom by myself." She rolled her eyes and added, "And I'll have you know I am happily married."

Greg held up his hand and flashed a gold band. "So am I. Doesn't mean I don't like to act up a little. Don't tell me you've never thought about it...the rush of a stranger's hands, the thrill of the forbidden…"

Lucy shook her head and calmly said, "I don't what your deal is, but your little game or whatever has no effect on me. I feel like if you're married and you feel like you need go and sleep around, maybe you should go home and try to work it out with your wife and stop being a lousy, philandering liar. That's just my advice to you."

The man seemed shock and widened his eyes as she spoke. When he answered, he carefully postured himself, unwilling to give up his conquest, "I bet your husband can't do you like I can."

"Alright. Let's do it. We'll get off at the next stop. We'll get a hotel room and we'll disappear from the whole world. We'll do all the unmentionables for as long as you want, or until my husband Laxus Dreyar hunts me down and finds us in bed together," she answered.

"Wh-What-Wait! Laxus Dreyar? The guy from the newspapers and magazines who blows entire cities up. That guy...is your husband?!"

"That's my husband. Just something for you to think about while you try to get it in, because for one thing, it's not going to work, and even if it did, my husband would kill you so good there probably wouldn't even be a body for your family to bury. Now, my kids kept me up half the night, so I'm going to take a nap, and you're going to leave me alone," she declared.

XXX

At the Dreyar home the next day, it was raining hard, thundering, and the wind was howling violently. Laxus was at the guild, Lucy was out of town, and Chelia was at home with the babies. The Dreyar babies were, unsurprisingly, undisturbed by thunder and lightning and so she put them down for a nap together in Yuri's bed and was studying her homework in preparation for her exams while a stranger skulked around outside.

There were numerous complications with the task at hand, and Eli Whisk, the world's greatest thief, considered this his greatest work. He'd stolen art, magical artifacts, documents, jewelry and all sorts of other items. He'd never kidnapped anyone, although he agreed because he was possibly the only one who could do it.

The primary challenge was that he had to snatch either one of the babies and leave no evidence or scent behind, because to do so was death. Pretty much any error would result in death. The thunderstorm would wash scents behind, plus none of the wizards were home, and there was limited visibility. He considered this his one chance.

Whisk silently scaled up the outside of the house, cut into the runes near the window using a rune-cutter he'd paid a life's wages for, then broke the lock as he slid the window open and came inside.

Yuri and Layla were asleep in Yuri's toddler bed. Layla was by the wall, Yuri was next to her, and what he quite unfortunately mistook for a stuffed animal was at the edge of the bed between the kidnapper and the babies.

He decided if he quickly snatched the boy, the girl would remain asleep so with one swift move, he snatched Yuri from the bed and held his hand over the boy's mouth.

Whisk dashed to the window and heard the deafening, terrifying sound of a tiger's full-force roar. Chelia had never heard the tiger make such a ferocious, scary sound so she knew something was wrong. The sound of the roar was so loud that it reached the elite hearing of her master at the guild who knew something was happening at his home.

He jumped, and as he fell towards the ground with Yuri, he had two thoughts:

'Who lets a tiger sleep with their babies?'

And secondly:

'Of course, a tiger was sleeping with the babies.'

He hit the ground, and heard the graceful landing of the tiger. She showed him her fangs and roared again, demanding the release of her dragon cub. He thought about running, and realized there was absolutely no chance he could outrun a tiger. The magic he used to steal stuff put humans to sleep, but he wasn't fighting a human.

His hand slipped off the toddler's face. "Rai-Rai!"

When the boy called for help, the tiger got all the more vicious.

Eli put Yuri down on the ground and put his hands up. "Look, I'm sorry. I put him down. Let's just be cool. Nice kitty kitty?"

He turned and tried to run and found himself face-down in the mud with a set of razor-sharp fangs sinking into him. This would result in the loss of half of his left butt-cheek, and when the tiger stopped shaking him as he screamed, he tried to get up only to feel a foot turn him on his back and he looked up into the deadly gaze of the dragon whose nest he'd just failed to plunder.

From his peripheral vision, Laxus saw the tiger pick up his son by the pants like he was actually a tiger cub and then climb up the nearby tree, then down a branch and back through his window, where Chelia was waiting.

Lightning started to crack around the house at a nearly constant state. "Who hired you? Answer me nicely and I'll only kill you a little bit."

"What do you mean, 'kill me a little bit?'"

"You don't want to know what the alternative is."

Laxus put his foot on the man's throat and pressed, and Whisk wished he could at least get up and try to run. That, unfortunately, seemed to require the use of his glutes, which had been ripped to pieces by a tiger who felt entitled to express her disapproval of his career and job choices.

Laxus found out the client was some dysfunctional wizard who probably wanted to hold him over or make him do something, and he was going to go handle that situation right at that moment, but he was worried about his babies and he didn't want to leave the fort unprotected as long as the situation had been unresolved.

Disposing of the offending source was actually an ideal job for 'Uncle Gildarts.' He was the kind of uncle who was useless for babysitting, didn't remember birthdays, and didn't know shit about babies, but if Laxus needed him to fuck somebody up in the name of Thunder Baby, he was willing and ready.

He made the call and decided against murdering someone in his front yard since the more blood would ruin the grass and his children were upstairs.

Laxus went upstairs once the authorities had taken the man, who turned out to be one of the most wanted criminals in the world, and found Chelia was trying to contend with a world of screaming babies.

Yuri didn't have a scratch on him but was screaming because he'd been scared half to death, and Layla was screaming because he was. They separated the babies, and once Yuri calmed down, he was fine since he really had no idea exactly how much danger held been in. Within an hour, he'd bounced back and went back to life as usual.

Freed came over after a couple of hours and once he knew the situation, he huffed. "He cut through my runes with a rune-cutter? What nonsense. It must have been very advanced."

"I think he was well-equipped and had an excellent plan. He might have been able to get away with him."

"Raijin got him, huh?"

"Ripped half his ass off in the front yard, carried my kid like a tiger cub back up to his room, and put him in bed where he was supposed to be."

Freed looked at the little piles of cereal around the tiger's bed as she slept in the living room while Yuri was sitting with a piece of paper and some crayons on the floor, scribbling furiously. "Has Raijin developed a taste for Cheerios?"

"Nope. Raijin sometimes takes him to remote places in the yard where there are big bugs or grass snakes or birds. I think she's trying to teach him how to hunt like a tiger does with her cubs so he doesn't have to eat cereal. The part that makes it hilarious is that he's trying to learn. He hid a grass snake in his pants the other day and scared Lucy half to death," Laxus answered as he reached for the beer on the coffee table.

Layla was sitting on the floor next to the tiger, feeling the fur with one hand as she watched her brother the artist. "Bagagagagaba!"

"Yeah," Yuri said.

"Aww...that's cute. He acts like he can understand her," Freed said.

Laxus answered, "Look, I don't know how it works, but Yuri and Layla have some form of communication. It's actually kind of creepy. So Layla starts crying because she's the pickiest eater in the family. I try feeding her fifteen different things. Yuri tells me she wants strawberries, I give her a strawberry and she's the happiest kid in the world. He just knows stuff. Sometimes, if I want to know what's going on, I'll just ask him."

Freed was very dubious, but decided to make a joke about it anyway. "Laxus, you had your babies so close together they think they're twins."

"They might as well be. How are things going with Mirajane the demon girlfriend?"

"Well, great. Except you and Lucy have made every woman in the guild want to get pregnant with your pretty little babies. We've been dating for six weeks and she has names for our seven children. Seven. Four boys and three girls."

Laxus just shrugged. "Oops."

Freed looked up at the babies again and tilted his head at Layla. She had two little blue heart-shaped stud earrings that were glittering whenever she moved. They were the exact same color as her eyes, a dark grayish, greenish blue. "Is your infant daughter wearing sapphire earrings?"

"They're actually blue diamonds."

He flipped his hair. "She's a baby. And you're a ridiculous father."

Yuri brought his art over to his father and held it up, and Laxus took it and looked at the enormous tangle of brown scribbles. One eyebrow rose in question, as he looked down. "That's for you, Daddy."

"Thank you...what is it?"

"Guess!"

Laxus stared for quite a while, but an enormous brown blob really only looked like one thing, although with his son's colorblindness, it was possible he just missing it with the brown. "Is this poop?"

"It's you, Daddy!"

"Excuse me," Freed said as he stepped into the nearest room, which was the downstairs bathroom. Impolite, loud, uncharacteristic laughter could be heard as soon as he closed the door, and Laxus felt like Freed laughed for at least two minutes before he came out, looking as dignified as ever.

Laxus thanked his son politely.

Freed went on to put stronger runes around the house, and Laxus continued the business of keeping an extra close eye on everything, although he was confident no one would bother the family while he was home.

He brought them into his bed and the babies spent their nights snoozing safe and sound between a dragon and a tiger.

 **Please Review!**

 _ **Special thanks to Luna123456, Undertheskysm yumeyumi1986m batgamesm satisfied readerm mewhee89, paname, ladyallyssa, adabs18, thunder baby fan, lunastarlady, disguisedbeauty, katiekat2001, misty shayna, xxshyxx, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, boyceashlee, supercrazyperson, julius night, jhdavis1103, angela magic, megumiyoung, lucyxanyoneshipper, savygirl1515, Silverghostkitsune, miss dany, thornado, aoutre, thealicehuntt, chan19, kamila-chan, court818, arouraleona, helenezahl, and mwolfe13 for reviewing!**_

AN: I know what I'm going to do with my cute little story. *wrings hands evilly* Mwahahaha!


	26. The Grandfather

Soft, high-pitched giggles: easily the best thing in the whole world to wake up to. Laxus cracked an eye open to find his son tickling his daughter and sat up in the bed. Once they were awake, it was absolutely futile to try and go back to sleep.

Having a daughter, a parent had a completely different considerations than with a son.

The fact that Layla was cute and shy and sweet was kind of adorable at the age she was at, but Laxus was fairly convinced that it would be a problem for her growing up. Social anxiety really wasn't cute in anyone over the age of two, and a girl needed self-confidence to be successful and happy.

He decided it was a good day for them to visit the guild.

After everyone was clean, dressed, and fed, Laxus spent a few minutes trying to fix his daughter's hair. This was a mysterious process to him. Lucy left instructions with pictures on a mirror, and after no less than an hour, at which point Layla had become uncooperative, Chelia heard her screams and came.

Layla was sitting there on the bed in the master bedroom crying from under a ball of fluffy, static-ridden blonde hair because Laxus had brushed the curls so many times they were just frizz.

Chelia shook her head as she picked up Layla. "You're a terrible father."

She carried the infant down the hall on one hip, speaking softly to her, "It's okay. Daddy's bad at hair. You can tell when you look at his, right?"

Laxus looked at his own hair in the mirror and ruffled it, but he couldn't really do much with it since it grew like it did. "Bad at hair," he absently repeated to himself.

Chelia brought Layla back to him in fifteen minutes with cute little curled blonde pigtails tied with ribbons and a blue polka dot dress with ruffled, white socks and blue shoes. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

He found his son infinitely easier to get ready. Shirt, pants, sneakers, comb his hair a little, and go. Chelia and Lucy gave him what he felt was an unreasonable amount of flack when he dressed Layla because he was evidently bad at matching girl clothes. He tried to match stripes and polka dots once and he thought he'd never hear the end of it.

The baby was still mad at him while they were walking to the guild, and he felt a little bad for being amused by it. Their son got mad faster and forgot it just as quickly, but Layla could hold a grudge for hours.

"You're just like Mama. So cute when you're pissed."

Layla made a little growl of a reply and he smirked and blew in her ear, which made her growl again. He repeated this until she was showing signs she might cry, and then kissed her hair.

Laxus was holding her at his side and was holding his son's hand as they walked passed the train station and Yuri caught a scent that was interesting to him and suddenly jerked away from his father and ran like a madman into the train station. He had a much sharper sense of smell than his father did, so Laxus didn't pick up the scent at first.

Yuri sprinted in between the legs of the people in the crowded train station, went under metal bars that separated the waiting area from the arrival area, and ran straight into a strange man's legs, which he sniffed curiously.

Ivan Dreyar looked down at the toddler sniffing him like a little puppy, and Yuri looked up at him. "Who are you!" the toddler demanded.

The man's eyebrows rose. "Who am I? Who are you!"

Ivan looked down at the boy. "You look just like.."

"YURI, _don't you_ _ **ever**_ _run away from me…"_ Laxus was growling a threat as he grabbed Yuri by one arm and picked him up and put him on his other hip. He trailed off when he found himself face-to-face with his father.

The two men hadn't seen one another in years, and Ivan had been out of the loop in another country. As far as he knew, his son was still a man-whoring batchelor who drank too much.

"Son?"

"Deadbeat. Did you have something to do with what happened at my house?" he growled, lightning sparking angrily.

Ivan was a little terrified as he had no idea who happened at his son's house. "No. I'm just switching trains. Trying to get to Alvarez."

Laxus knew his father wasn't lying as his father seemed very confused by everything in that moment. It was an unfortunate coincidence, but luckily for Ivan, the kids had been present and Laxus asked first before he blasted him to ashes.

There were actually moments where Ivan wasn't up to anything bad, stupid, or evil and Laxus realized pretty quickly this was one of them.

Ivan stared at his son, who had a kid on each hip, and pointed from Yuri to Layla. "What are those?"

His son looked at his babies and answered in a flat, annoyed tone, "They are _children_."

"...yours?"

Eyebrow twitching in annoyance, Laxus sarcastically answered, "I bought the boy from an ad I saw in the newspaper and the girl I found crawling around in the woods the other day."

Yuri interrupted him. "No, we came from Mommy's tummy."

Ivan almost couldn't bend his mind around the idea. "My sweet little Laxus is a father...to my sweet little grandbabies!"

"Hell no indeed," Laxus said as he spun and started to remove himself and his little ones from his father's presence.

Ivan tried to make a case for himself as he followed his son out of the train station. "My sweet little Laxus, wait! I've been doing well. I haven't even been in the country for years. I've been teaching magic to some orphans in Brago."

He actually had heard that rumor about his father, and considering how completely stupefied Ivan was by the idea he was a father, it was obvious he hadn't been keeping tabs on him or Fairy Tail. Not stalking his own son was a new high for Ivan, and while Laxus didn't want him around, he was glad his father had at least made it that far.

His father followed him halfway to Fairy Tail when Laxus finally turned and asked, "What on earth do you want?"

Ivan really wasn't sure. "Let me just look at them. How old are they?"

Their father answered, "Yuri is two. Layla is seven months old."

"They have the same mother?"

"Yes of course. God, what kind of person do you think I am?"

"My sweet little Laxus, you don't want me to answer that."

His son sighed. "Look, I got married to Lucy Heartfilia. You stalked our guild so you probably know a lot about her. We've had two kids."

"Will there be more?"

"I don't think so."

Ivan clasped his hands together and swooned when Layla peeked at him shyly. "They're so cute I feel like you should have at least ten."

"So, the guy that couldn't raise one kid is telling me that I should have _ten_. Help me understand that, Dad."

His father reached out to pat Yuri on the head. "You're obviously a good father. I think this may surprise you, but I wasn't naturally very good at parenting."

"You abandoned me and then almost killed me, so that's not surprising at all."

It was bothersome to see how happy his father was about the babies because Laxus was trying very hard to continue to think of him as the world's biggest asshole. Ivan was downright mushy about Yuri and Layla, and the rumors seemed to be true about him living a reasonably helpful life where he contributes to society.

"Gorgeous woman. I knew these kids were cute for a reason. They must get it from her. You son favors you though, doesn't he? Pops too," he said as he looked from Yuri to Layla, "...this one looks like me."

Laxus looked down at his adorably gorgeous daughter and said, "I don't know if you know this or not, but you're basically the ugly one in the family and I kind of assume some kind of horrible mutation took place when you were conceived. Neither of my kids bears any resemblance to you."

Ivan pointed at Layla's little ears. "Slightly pointed, elfin looking ears...that's mine all damn day, Laxus. High cheekbones, cute little chin."

When Ivan pointed out his own features and then pointed them out on Layla and Laxus saw them side by side, Laxus realized that Layla's face _did_ look like his father's, and the ears he couldn't even deny. The idea that his perfect little daughter looked like his ugly decrepit father was enough to make his stomach turn and raise his irritation level to fever pitch. He knew he wouldn't be able to unsee it.

Ivan loomed in and cooed at the baby, "You look just like me, don't you?"

Layla started crying because she was shy and a little afraid, but to Ivan, it seemed like she was crying because she looked like him. She hid her head in her father's chest and became quiet, unwilling to look at or acknowledge her grandfather.

"I'm sorry! Please don't cry, I'll take it back!" Ivan quickly and awkwardly said.

Laxus didn't even know how to handle his father since he was evidently trying very hard to be nice and normal. "It's strange how awkward you are around them. You're like a person who has never had a kid."

"Why is that strange?"

"Because I'm your kid, obviously."

Laxus knew there was a limited amount of time he could stand there and talk before his kids got annoyed, so he tilted his head to gesture to a nearby cafe. He really didn't know why he was humoring his father, although he suspected it was because he was a father now and he wanted to believe that no matter how crazy things got, Yuri would always believe in him.

They went to a corner booth, Laxus ordered cookies for the little ones and coffees for the men. Ivan sat on one side of the booth and Laxus sat with Layla in his lap and Yuri beside them.

"So what the fuck have you been doing?" he asked.

Ivan furrowed his brows. "Do you really curse like that in front of your kids?"

Laxus bristled at the idea Ivan was attempting to ask him about parenting, but looked down. "Yuri, tell this man what happens when you say a bad word."

"Daddy makes me go _bzzzzzt!_ "

"You discipline your child with lightning," Ivan mumbled in disbelief.

Laxus leaned his head on his hand. "Oh look, the man who abandoned me at birth is criticising my choices as a father. Besides, it's effective and I don't have to get up from the couch to do it. Otherwise, I have to get up, chase the little rascal halfway across the house, listen to him plead for mercy...it's a big hassle."

Yuri slid off the booth and went under the table and Laxus added, "My son is at an age where he likes to see how far he can go without pissing me off. Discipline is an important part of helping Yuri understand who is actually in charge."

The toddler climbed onto the booth on the other side next to Ivan.

When the waitress brought the coffee and cookies, Layla sat with both hands and nibbled at hers bit by bit while Yuri tore into his.

Ivan watched them with a little grin. "They seem like good kids. Are you happy?"

Laxus nodded.

"I'm glad."

There was a long, somewhat awkward silence, and Ivan said, "Let's talk about your mother."

"No thanks, my day's already kind of gone to shit, Dad."

"She says you never write and you never visit her."

Laxus drummed his fingers on the table. "So my other parent, who also abandoned me at birth to my alcoholic, philandering grandfather, feels like she is entitled to my time and attention. I could never figure out which one of you was worse, and then you almost killed me with the dragon lacrima and I realized it was you all along."

Ivan said, "Don't be like that. You mom would love to meet the grandkids."

"That's not going to happen," his son quickly answered.

"Why?"

"Because I'm not ready to tell my children what a prostitute is."

His father argued, "She's not a prostitute, she's an escort. Escorts don't sleep with their clients."

"And yet, I exist. I don't even know why you two have contact."

"We had a son together," Ivan answered with emphasis, as if he was making a valid point.

Laxus wondered how his family became so dysfunctional, although he didn't mind it so much anymore since nothing crazy had gone down in a while. "I think that would only be a reasonable excuse if you actually raised that child together. If you both leave the child, you have no reason to talk to each other."

Ivan cautiously asked, "What if we got back together?"

"I would continue to not care, not visit, and not write."

The idea was actually pretty gross to Laxus, and he tried not to think about it. Even if it was normal for people to be weirded out by the idea of their parents having sex, it was especially true if your father was Ivan Dreyar and your mother was an escort.

The idea that Ivan would plead her case before him was bizarre.

Ivan rested his head on his hand and sighed. "Son, we're not getting older. Imagine this: your mother and I together with you and your family on the holidays."

Laxus _did_ consider it, and he found the idea so unnervingly terrible that he shook his head. "I would rather die horribly and over a long period of time."

Ivan felt like trying to talk to his son was like trying to have a meaningful conversation with a brick wall that someone had spray painted assorted obscenities on. He could make no progress, and his son was wholly unpersuaded to change anything about the way he related to his parents.

"Does your wife know about your mother?"

His son settled back down. "So the thing is, because it's kind of unusual for a mother to abandon her kid, everyone just kind of assumes my mother is probably dead and they don't ask because it would be a painful memory for me. I just leave it just like that."

"You've been married for years and you've never told Lucy about your mother."

Laxus shrugged.

For the record, Lucy _did_ ask, and he lied and told her his mother was dead four years prior and had never revisited the issue in order to set the record straight. He felt like that lie was just kind of floating in the ether, waiting on an opportunity to backfire.

He tensed and took a deep breath. "Please do not bring Mom around. Lucy will kill me."

Ivan smiled. "What I hear you saying is that I can come to dinner with your adorable family next time I'm in town and you will let me play with your precious little babies."

"And now we've come full circle back to extortion and lies."

His father smirked. "Reminds you of the good old days, doesn't it?"

"I'll let you come to dinner one time. Warn me before you come so I can prepare Lucy. I won't let you mess with the kids, because if you play with them, they'll trust you, and I don't want that."

"Deal."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _AN: So, quite a few people have requested an Ivan appearance. I wanted it to be a little lighter. I want to believe Ivan doesn't have to be batshit crazy, although he is in my other story. I think they probably had some good times, or Laxus wouldn't have been upset when Makarov put him out of the guild._

Special thanks to Numinous-Alqua, Tardisthrufandom, savygirl1515, yumeyumi1986, mewhee, xxshyxx, lucyxheartfiliaxfan, kurahieiritr JIO, Angela Magic, w1n6s-0r-f1r3, crystal3300, guest, boyceashlee, sidfr100, katiekat2001, undertheskys, aoutre, lalu-forever, katelyn, court818, the alicehuntt, jhdavis1103, megumiyoung, swallowmysoul, supercrazyperson, thornado, and arouraleona for reviewing!


	27. The Daddy Issue

Six hours without a word.

How else would one's wife react to the idea that her psychotic father-in-law had a standing invitation to dine with them?

This was an improvement because before the silent treatment started, there had been some very high-decibel, agitated protestations.

A door slammed upstairs and he rolled his eyes.

Layla crawled over to where he sat on the couch and he picked her up and pulled her into his lap, and Yuri climbed up to sit on the other side of his lap.

He reached into his pants, and Laxus sighed. "Son, I don't know what you're doing, but get your hands out of there."

Yuri took out a very large bug and held it out for his sister. "This for you."

Laxus thumped it out of his hands across the room. "Son, there are billions of girls in this world and not one of them wants a dead roach as a gift. And stop putting stuff in your pants. You're going to end up with a weird rash or something. And keep your hands out of there. It is never okay for anyone, anywhere to stick their hands in their underwear."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"'Cause why?"

"Just...hands out of your pants, and no bugs for girls."

He seemed confused by this - why _wouldn't_ someone want something like that?

Yuri heard another door slam. "Mama's mad?"

Laxus nodded.

He'd caught them having a fight and had been mostly unbothered by it. By this point in his life as a toddler, he'd pushed all of his mother's buttons the wrong way and in the right order and seen her get a little pissed. Namely, when he used toilet paper to wrap his sister up like a mummy.

It was a really fascinating and exciting thing for him, and he sometimes felt driven by a spirit of mischief to provoke his mother. He inherited this from his father.

"Say sowwy to Mama."

Yuri had been taught well; he knew that if you do something stupid and piss someone off, one should 'say sowwy,' give a good hug, and move on from the entire thing. It made him happy to know his son was like he was. He liked the person he was slowing growing into.

He was not, however, going to apologize.

Laxus ruffled his hair and then did the same thing to his daughter's hair.

She looked up. "Baaabababaga, Dada," she uttered in a tone that said, ' _stop messing up my hair.'_

Lucy really hadn't been gone very long on her job, but while she was, their son was almost kidnapped, a man's butt got very literally chewed off in the front yard, and - this was what she was ready to skewer her husband for - Ivan Dreyar had not only come into contact with her children, but Laxus had kind of somewhat given him a little ground in having a relationship of some kind.

He'd never pissed her off more seriously, but he found her anger was somewhat hypocritical and he honestly wasn't sorry. They both had a very long list of both daddy and mommy issues, and he was amazed nothing like this had happened yet.

They had their worst fight so far, and he contemplated taking a job and leaving for a few days, but he didn't want her to feel like she won anything.

When Layla needed her diaper changed, he carried her upstairs into enemy territory, and went into the nursery with Yuri climbing the stairs behind him.

He entered Layla's pink princess of a room and went to his work.

They went to Yuri's room immediately thereafter to get more toys, and he felt her approach with dread.

"Let's talk," she said, reaching out for his hand.

Laxus withdrew his hand from hers.

Lucy nodded. "Okay, fine. If you're not done _being an asshole_ , I can be patient. I have the rest of my life."

Yuri, who was trying to drag a big sack of wooden bricks toward the door, looked up in awe. "That's a bad word, Mama."

Lucy bent down. "Sorry, Baby. Forgive Mommy for that, okay?"

"You made daddy mad?"

"Yes, baby."

"Say sowwy."

One of the strange things about parenting a toddler was that Yuri would offer observations and advice as he saw fit, and the things he said reflected all of the things they'd poured into him, intentionally or no. He did occasionally say some fairly random things. When Laxus was trying to wash a mountain of dishes, for instance, Yuri sat on the counter and told his father he should blow them up instead of washing them and Laxus actually thought this was a good idea.

The doorbell rang, and Laxus carried Layla down with him to answer it, thankful for a reason to walk past his wife without saying anything.

When he opened the door, Jet and Droy were there, and after speaking with him for a few minutes, Laxus nodded and shut the door again. He climbed the stairs with a tense expression and found his wife sitting on the floor with their son in his room.

"Babe."

"Don't 'Babe' me right now."

Laxus bristled at how nasty her reply was. "Mrs. Dreyar, Levy went into labor and something went wrong. They took her to the hospital. It's serious."

Levy's pregnancy had been rough, and Lucy had confided in him more than once about how worried she was about her. The two women were close, and in some ways, Levy was following down the same path Lucy had gone, but it had been harder all along.

Lucy seemingly forgot she was pissed, and her anger was replaced mostly by fear. "Levy…"

So they walked in uncomfortable silence to the hospital after they let Chelia know she was on baby duty for a while. At the hospital, there was a handful of Fairy Tail wizards that were close to Levy and Gajeel, and they all waited quietly.

The fact that they did so from across the room from one another cued everyone there pretty early on that they were fighting. They were both so good at giving each other bad looks that their glares alone were enough to make innocent bystanders want to hide.

Gajeel came out after a while, looking utterly terrified, but that was the effect a woman having a baby tended to have on a man. Laxus knew very well that no matter how big or how bad a man is, a woman in labor with his child provided an experience that was unsettling, exciting, and terrifying all at once. He assumed Gajeel's experience was probably more terrifying than anything else by this point.

Lucy went to him. "How's Levy?"

"Not good. There's some bleeding. The doctor might have to take the baby with surgery. So uhhh...that's the update."

Lucy tried to encourage him by saying, "It'll be okay."

"They might have to cut her open...this is my fault," Gajeel mumbled as he tottered on the verge of unraveling.

Lucy squeezed him tightly in a hug. "Go be strong for Levy, okay? Everything is going to be all right soon, and you're going to get to hold your son and you're going to be so happy."

Gajeel nodded and left, and Lucy went back to sitting on the opposite side of the room.

She glared as he approached and sat in the chair next to her.

"Do you want something?"

Laxus bent down and quietly said, "You are out of your goddamned mind if you think you're going to embrace some other man in front of me while you're not speaking to me."

Lucy knew from the tone of his voice that he was very serious about this, but she had been married to him for three years and was undeterred by his little moments. "Well, I clearly am out of my mind. Look who I married."

Laxus started fights.

She escalated them.

Addressing their marriage in such a way caused his face to form an expression she didn't quite understand but believed to be something between blind rage and confusion and hurt. And she realized she'd taken it a little bit too far.

They sat there for a long time, and Laxus said, "I feel like you should understand."

"Understand what? You let some psychotic creep come around? You invited him to our house. You let him touch our children. Just think about what he's done to Fairy Tail, to you, God, what's the matter with you?" she asked.

Laxus found himself in a peculiar position, because normally, she was struggling to help him understand how she felt, but now the tables were turned.

He said, "My dad is a bastard. He ignored me most of my childhood, he used me for his own gain, he manipulated me, he conspired against and attacked the guild to take something he wanted, but then again _**so did yours**_."

Indignation burned in her. "Don't you try to compare them!"

"Your father destroyed the guild, had most of our members beaten up, and almost had the Jupiter cannon fired at Magnolia, and had you beaten half to death to intimidate you into entering a forced marriage. That's some pretty deep shit, Lucy, but if he wasn't dead I bet he'd have been to dinner by now," he said.

Laxus had been on her last nerve.

Where he was now was so far beyond her last nerve she didn't even know how to express how she felt. She sat there stupefied.

She bent over and started to sob like a baby, although mostly because she was so pissed she didn't know how to express her anger. Laxus leaned his head against the wall and crossed his arms.

Ha said, "I bet even when all that was going on, you still hoped that someday, things would be okay. Am I allowed to feel that way to, or are you the only one who gets that privilege?"

This stopped Lucy.

Laxus rarely spoke about his father, even to her. The only feelings he ever expressed was toward their family, and he wasn't the type to go back and revisit the past. In his mind, it was what it was, but as she sat there, she wondered if maybe he really had gone through the same things as her.

It was true; if they tallied up the sins of Jude Heartfilia and Ivan Dreyar against Fairy Tail, her father won in a landslide. But there had been moments where she wondered if age and experience would make her father capable of having a good relationship with their family, despite all he did.

And she wondered if, under all the declarations of apathy, Laxus had the same sentiment buried somewhere deep in him.

"You're sure he won't hurt the kids?"

Laxus nodded. "He's actually pretty harmless if you think about it. Full of damaging information about Fairy Tail and supposedly hell bent on destroying the guild, but in twenty years of being a dick, nobody has ever been seriously injured or killed. Don't you think that's a little suspicious?"

"Did he put that lacrima in you so he could take it back?"

"He has never tried, not even once."

Lucy decided to let him win this war, because if the roles were switched, she believed he'd let her father come around a little. She was also tired and scared for Levy, and it took too much to fight and worry at the same time.

She leaned her head on his arm, and he wrapped his arm around her. "Daddy issues."

"I like to think I don't give a shit about Ivan, but blood is still blood."

Lucy nodded. "I think I loved my dad so much it didn't matter what he did. I guess that's the love of family, right? That's probably the way Yuri and Layla feel about us. No matter how much we mess up, they still believe in us to love them. Just like we believe…"

The other occupants of the waiting room were grateful when tension dropped from the air, and they waited quietly for what felt like an eternity.

Finally, the nurse came out and announced the baby had been safely delivered, and that he and mother were safe and sound.

Lucy and Laxus stayed longer than most, and once the crowd had mostly cleared, Gajeel took the baby to the empty waiting room to escape from the crowd and held him carefully. The only other person in the waiting room was Laxus, who was sleeping awkwardly in a chair with his mouth hung open while Lucy was with Levy.

The baby let out a cry, and Laxus was so conditioned to the noise that his eyes snapped open and for a second, he thought 'let me change this baby so I can go back to sleep.' When he realized where he was, he stood up and walked over to Gajeel before he burst out laughing.

"How much does that kid weigh?"

"Ten and a half pounds. Why?"

Laxus shook his head. "That is a fucking _huge_ baby. Poor little Levy. You're probably never going to get laid again."

"Is he? Sam seems so tiny to me," Gajeel whispered.

The baby's foot came out of the blanket, and he clumsily tried to get the blanket right. The baby fussed a bit, and Gajeel continued his awkward attempts.

Laxus found himself fairly chill in this moment. "Sam, huh?"

"Yeah. I don't really know how to...baby. Do you know how this goes? He was wrapped up like a baby burrito, but I messed with it."

The elder yawned and nodded, taking the baby with practiced ease. In seven seconds, Sam was properly swaddled and back with Gajeel.

"You're like a baby ninja."

Laxus nodded. "You'll get used to it really fast if you're around a lot."

Gajeel touched his little blue-haired son's hair. "I worry I'll drop him or something."

"You'll be fine. Babies are pretty tough anyway."

The iron dragon slayer sniffed the baby. "He smells new."

"Babies tend to alternate between smelling really good and smelling really awful."

Laxus was amused in some weird, twisted way as he watched Gajeel and Natsu become parents because he still occasionally thought of them as 'kids' even though they weren't really that much younger than him. After two babies, his whole mentality toward babies was mostly relaxed, but from that vantage point, it was _hilarious_ to watch another man become a father for the first time.

It was four in the morning before he and Lucy finally left to go home.

"I'm tired. A piggyback ride would be nice," she said with a yawn.

Laxus bent down so she could climb on his back and waited for her the snuggle close, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Babe, you can ride me anytime you want." He held her by the legs as he made his way toward their home. "I'm sorry about today."

"Me too."

"Yuri's a cute little guy, trying to get Mom and Dad to 'say sowwy.'"

"He is. I feel like he was the grownup today."

"That's scary."

She kissed his cheek. "Sam is a cute baby."

Laxus nodded. "Did you notice how huge he is? Like, how did Levy have such a huge freakin' kid?"

"Stitches."

"Say no more."

He felt another kiss. "How about some makeup sex when we get home?"

"That sounds good. You let me ride you home, and I'll let you ride me when we get there. Deal?"

Laxus smirked. "Can't say no to such a cute girl, can I?"

When they got home, they checked in on their sleeping babies.

Yuri was sleeping with his mouth open on top of his blankets in his 'big boy underwear' as his pajamas had clearly been removed and thrown on the floor during the night. This was fairly normal for him, as he seemed to prefer to sleep in his undies. They'd been trying in vain for most of his life to help him start liking clothes, but when it came to sleeping, he'd more or less won the battle. They'd put him in pajamas one time before bed and then leave him alone once he took them off.

He seemed like he was hot, so they turned on the fan and put a thin sheet over him, careful not to wake him.

They went down the hall to where Layla was sleeping in her crib, curled up with her thumb in her mouth. Laxus pulled it out and she smiled a little in her sleep.

"It's different for girls, right? I almost expected her to be a rowdy wild child like our son," Laxus said.

Lucy nodded in understanding. "She'll be brave when she gets older. One thing I know about being a girl is that the world always challenges girls. She's a Dreyar, so she'll be fine. Who knows? Isn't that the amazing thing about babies? Their future is completely unwritten."

Laxus gave in to his primary parental compulsion and reached down to play with her feet. The baby's mother only sighed, having resigned herself to the fact that he was going to bother the babies no matter what she thought about it.

The baby started to cry because he woke her up, which made him laugh as he lifted her from the crib.

"I'm sorry, baby," he said with a grin.

Lucy crossed her arms. "No, you're not. You'll do it again tomorrow."

"I love it when she's cranky. It's cute."

"Mama!" she cried reaching for Lucy.

Lucy took the baby from his arms. "Rejected!"

Laxus rolled his eyes as she rubbed her daughter's back and whispered in her ear about him.

Layla gave him a pouty glare and then hid her face in Lucy's shoulder, as if she was so angry she couldn't bear to look at him.

He laughed. "That's so cute I can't stand it."

"I don't like to look at him when he pisses me off either," Lucy gently said.

Laxus adored his girls, both mother and daughter.

Once they got the baby back to sleep, they headed upstairs and as soon as the door was locked, they were at it.

XXX

At six in the morning, someone knocked on the door, and his dragon ears picked up on the sound. He slid out of bed, annoyed he'd literally just gone to sleep, and plodded down the stairs. He knew he'd be up any minute with their son anyway, so he resigned himself to a day of exhaustion.

Natsu was standing on the other side of the door, holding a crying newborn. "Help! Lisanna is sick, and the baby just keeps yelling."

Iggy Dragneel had white hair, jade green eyes and a name that was possibly silly, but he showed pretty strong signs he got a little dragon blood like Yuri did. So, Laxus personally believed what he was named didn't matter because mocking a fire-breather was a clear and obvious bad choice.

Lisanna had contracted the flu and while Natsu was trying to let her rest and get better, their newborn was still being a newborn.

Natsu looked _so tired_.

Laxus sighed.

His choices were to be a dick, to wake up Lucy or Chelia and let her deal with this, or to do it himself. Disturbing sleeping women was generally not his style, so he seized the screaming infant from Natsu.

By the time he got the unhappy baby burped, Natsu had passed out on the couch.

He decided not to be an asshole, since he pawned Yuri off on Aquarius when he was a newborn and knew first hand how terrible it was to be a brand new father with a cranky infant. Sick wife on top of that?

Iggy actually seemed to love screaming. He did it even when he wasn't particularly upset, but to a new parent, any time the baby screams it's a five-alarm fire.

By the time Lucy woke up, it was almost noon, and when she came downstairs, she found Natsu in a comatose-like sleep on their couch. "What happened to him?"

"He had a kid. Iggy is upstairs in Layla's crib if you want to go be weird," he said.

Lucy and Natsu were such close friends that they had a weird love for the others' babies. This had been true since Yuri was born, and Lucy practically gushed over Iggy at every opportunity. Lucy hugged and kissed her kids and then went straight upstairs.

Their kids were playing in the living room, and when Laxus saw Layla upright on her feet, he peeked over the counter in the kitchen to see her standing as Yuri held her hands.

"See? It's easy!"

Laxus said, "Son, be careful. She's not ready to walk yet."

Layla lost her balance, fell, and took down Yuri. They fell together with a thud, and both broke out into giggles. Once she sat back upright, she reached right back for him, and Laxus decided to leave them alone. The little girl had wanted to run after her brother since she was born, and she was getting steadily closer toward that goal.

Yuri wanted her to be able to walk too, probably so they could get into trouble together, and for her to start talking. Sometimes he would just sit and talk to her even though she didn't understand or say anything back, and Laxus wondered if he could remember how he and Lucy did the same thing with him.

Lucy brought the baby downstairs and squealed over him. "He's such a good boy, yes he is."

Yuri was disturbed by this.

When Lucy sat in the chair with the baby, Yuri crawled into her lap somewhat unhappily. "What is it? You almost never want to sit with me these days. You're off having your adventures. Mama got a new baby."

The toddler sniffed the newborn, and knew this child did not belong to their family. "Nuh-uh."

What made it unbearably funny to Lucy was how serious he was. "You don't want a baby boy? A little brother?"

"I want ice cream."

Laxus always found it amusing when Lucy trolled their children, because when she chose to do it, she did it well. Their toddler really asked for it by being jealous.

He decided to join in on the fun because now he was curious. "What if we had a baby girl? You want another sister?"

Yuri gave it serious thought. "Ummmmmmm…'kay."

"So you don't mind if we have another baby, as long as it's not a boy."

"Yeah."

Laxus asked, "What would you say to a little brother?"

"Go away," he answered in his sweet little voice.

Yuri slid off her lap, as if disgusted by the conversation and sat with his sister.

After Natsu awoke refreshed and took his son home, Lucy turned to her husband and said, "Did our territorial toddler just tell us we better not have another son?"

"He did. He's a gutsy little man. You want to go upstairs and ruin his life?"

"Maybe in a couple of years."

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 _ **Special thanks to sassykitten1701m TARDISthrufandom, andy24amk, yumeyumi1986, Otakulover43, nobody's crush, numinous-alqua, katiekat2001, jhdavis1103, adabs18, megumiyoung, silverghostkitsune, dogsrcool5, aoutre, thealicehuntt, kurahieiritr JIO, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, arouraleona, paname, lucyxanyoneshipper, Disguisedbeauty, ladyallyssa, sidjr100, thornado, and mwolfe13 for reviewing!**_


	28. The Dinner Party

Life got interesting when Layla started walking and talking.

Having one toddler was interesting, but two? The pitter-patter of little feet was a very real thing at the Dreyar house, and usually, they ran everywhere. It was Yuri's custom to run at any time for any reason, and Layla did her best to keep up with him. Sometimes, when they were playing in the yard and he realized he was too far ahead, he'd stop and urge her onward with a "c'mon! You can do it!"

It was the kind of thing that was so cute it made childless people feel a little nauseated.

Lucy smiled a little as she listened to her two babies playing while she cooked for what would be referred to the Great Dreyar Dinner Party. The house was clean, the table had fresh linens, they had the 'good dishes' out - the ones the children couldn't be trusted with - and the house smelled of delicious food.

Laxus was half-asleep on the couch while she worked, supposedly watching the children.

Recently she read in a newspaper article that reptiles spent most of their energy looking for food, fighting, eating, and mating. The rest of their time was spent laying motionless in a warm, sunny area. This summed up the life of every dragon slayer since ever, and Lucy could be considerably more forgiving when she considered her darling husband was basically a very large reptile trapped in the body of a man.

When she saw the lizards lying on each other in the window of the pet store, she couldn't help but think, "This is how my husband and I spend Saturday morning."

She looked over the counter and saw him stretched out on the couch with his eyes closed, a beer on the coffee table beside him. The babies were giggling and happy, and Lucy was too busy to try and worry about what they were doing.

But there were two things that caused suspicion in a parent; first, when the children were completely silent, and second, when they were happy and not moving around because it implied they were busy and delighted at the same time.

She put a red velvet cake in the oven and went to see what her darling blonde-headed babies were doing.

They were drawing all over each other with markers.

With their father napping six feet away.

Lucy stared at him for at least an entire minute, her eyes narrowing as her rage slowly bubbled up.

He _felt_ her anger. It caused him to jolt awake and sit up. "Lucy?"

His wife tapped her foot on the ground. "You know how you invited your insane father to our house, and then when he decided to show up, you decided that you'd watch the kids while I clean and cook and get ready?"

Laxus already knew he was in deep, and he reached for his beer. He knew the kids had gotten into trouble, but since Lucy was standing directly in front of him, he couldn't see them. "Yes?"

"Well.."

"Your _only_ job, Laxus. Watch the babies."

Lucy stepped out of the way and he saw the kids were covered in marker.

Layla had a blue mustache, and a red beard and a marker in each hand that coordinated to the mindless scribbles all over Yuri.

His wife said, "And for that matter, didn't I tell you this morning to put the markers away, because why?"

He brought a palm to his face and groaned.

"Because why, Laxus?"

Laxus rolled his eyes and repeated what she'd said only that morning, "Because the kids might get them and write on each other."

"And what did I say when you bought them the markers?"

"They might write on each other."

"Okay. The next time you don't want to listen to me…" she started.

He took the last gulp of his beer. "We both know I'm not going to live this one down for a while."

Yuri leaned over to his sister and whispered, "Daddy made mommy mad again."

"Dat's bad," the little girl answered with a nod.

Laxus got up and felt the judgment of his children. "Right, well. Bath time."

He took one toddler in each arm and hauled them to bathroom, ran some bath water, and undressed them. Yuri loved to undress, and his sister was the opposite. She'd throw tantrums behind having to take her pretty dresses off, even if they were covered in mud.

Anyone with experience in bathing toddlers knew that toddlers enjoyed getting themselves in a state that required a good scrubbing, but they actually hate to be scrubbed. Laxus knew this task would lead to screaming and crying, but it was necessary and it was more or less his punishment for falling asleep on the job.

Toddlers could not be trusted.

Laxus whistled while they cried and splashed around in the water.

Layla kept screaming, "WHY!" as he scrubbed her red beard off, and Yuri declared him a monster.

Laxus gave them a moment of peace and reached for the rubber duckie. "Why? Well, why would I relax and take a nap when I could be making my children cry instead?"

Yuri jerked his hand back and then threw the duckie, hitting Laxus on the forehead.

Layla started to giggle at this.

Laxus found himself a little offended and leaned over the edge. "Layla, whose side are you on?"

His daughter quickly answered, "I wuvuuuuuuuuu!"

"That's my girl."

He got them out of the water, dried, and dressed them up a little nicely, and left Layla at Chelia's room because he'd given up on being able to do her hair and it wasn't long before guests were supposed to arrive.

Laxus and Yuri went to the kitchen to find Lucy setting the table.

"You're such a good little housewife."

The blonde smiled at him. "All I have to do is get through tonight, right?"

"Right. Ivan comes around about once every six years or so."

Yuri climbed onto a chair and reached for a fork, but was stopped dead when Lucy gave him a single glare. "We gonna eat? It smells so goooooood, Mama. What's it?"

His mother said, "Garlic and rosemary pork loin, roasted red potatoes and asparagus, risotto with mushrooms, stuffed squash, parmesan dinner rolls, and a fresh salad. For dessert, red velvet cake with cream cheese and almond frosting."

Yuri, the most un-picky child ever born onto the earth, knew very little about what those words meant, but said, "I want to put them in my tummy!"

"Not yet," Laxus sternly said, knowing his son would throw temper tantrums over food when it suited them.

"...then I'll poop! A lot!"

Lucy and Laxus gave their son the same unamused expression at the same time.

Laxus cleaned up the kitchen a bit while Lucy went to change into her dress, and Chelia brought Layla back down. In order to keep the toddlers from getting into any further trouble, Laxus carried the girl and kept a constant eye on Yuri.

Just as she was coming downstairs, the doorbell rang and Lucy took a deep breath.

Laxus was so pleased with Lucy. There was something about introducing her to his father that made him want to demonstrate he'd done better than Ivan could ever hope to do. She was an amazing wife, an incredible mother, she was a good cook, and she was supernaturally gifted in the area of putting up with his shit.

For instance, she'd already forgiven him for ignoring her when she said not to buy the kids markers, ignoring her when she told him to make sure they were put away, and then falling asleep while the kids drew on one another.

Laxus opened the door, still holding Layla on one hip.

Ivan was dressed like a normal person, in slacks and a button-down shirt, and it was surreal, because Lucy just expected him to look like a clown. He still had little beady crazy eyes though, and without asinine 'wizard wear' Lucy determined he seemed like like an evil mastermind and more like a garden variety serial killer.

Lucy tried to be friendly, especially when she realized he'd brought a date. Laxus seemed weirdly paralyzed and bizarrely shocked, but she didn't know it was because his father's date was his mother, the woman Laxus told Lucy was dead.

His mother was tall, and pretty, and had long red hair and some interesting-looking bangs. It was the same little cowlick Laxus and Yuri had, but Lucy didn't even consider this connection because she still believed her mother-in-law was long dead.

Laxus glared at both of them and said nothing.

And Lucy wondered why her husband invited his family over if he was only going to be rude and silent. If that was the case, they could have continued doing that from opposite sides of the country.

"Ms. Heartfilia," Ivan said.

" _Dreyar_ ," she stiffly corrected.

"Yes, that's right. Sorry. It's hard for me to imagine my son as a husband."

Ivan pointed to his date. "This is Charlotte."

Despite how properly Charlotte was dressed, Lucy, like all women, had an innate sense that told her things about other women. Just like Laxus knew whether or not he could defeat an opponent before a fight began, Lucy knew.

Charlotte, who was wearing a fur stole, grinned at Laxus somewhat lovingly and Lucy completely misinterpreted her affections.

Laxus took her stole, his father's coat, and hung them politely.

His mother looked around. "You have a lovely home, S -"

"Smells _amazing_ ," Laxus quickly said, giving her a glare.

Charlotte had been well-briefed on the situation by Ivan and really didn't want to out her son in front of his wife.

"You have beautiful children, Laxus," the woman said, looking from Yuri as he stood at his father's feet to the baby girl in his arms.

"Whatever."

Laxus tried his best to be nonchalant, but the situation was bad and he knew it was going to get ugly.

The doorbell rang again just as he showed his guests to the table, and Laxus let Makarov in.

As soon as his scent entered the house, Yuri came running. "Gams! Gams! Gams!"

And then a smaller squeal, "Gammms!"

Laxus put Layla down so she could toddle her way into Makarov's arms and Yuri jumped full force, nearly knocking the old man down.

Makarov hugged them tightly. "My sweet babies…"

The oldest of the Dreyars really couldn't get over how wonderful Laxus' little family really was. Despite the many failures to parent in their family, Laxus was an incredible father. He was calm and patient with the little ones, and together with Lucy's impeccable mothering, they had two amazing little babies.

When they all turned to go into the dining room, Lucy whispered, "Laxus, is that woman a prostitute?"

Laxus nodded once.

"Do you know her?"

He nodded again.

"You didn't...you wouldn't...I know back in the day…you were wild and..."

Laxus put two fingers over her mouth. "Lucy, please stop thinking."

"Have you ever paid for a prostitute?" she whispered as the other guests started to take a seat at the table.

He clenched his eyes shut. "Lucy, not now."

"You have!" she hissed.

Had he?

Yes, yes he had. Once, when he was a nineteen and drunk, and he really didn't understand it was a business transaction until the woman was doing her good work a little too well and he realized she was clearly a professional. And as such, he paid her a due and never spoke or thought of it again.

But that was neither here nor there.

Here was a dinner party with every living member of the Dreyar family, spanning across four generations of severe familial dysfunction.

Virgo and Loke seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Princess! Allow us to serve you!"

Lucy nodded. "Thank you, Virgo."

She put Layla in her high chair next to her and Laxus put Yuri in a booster seat in the chair beside him.

Yuri complained, "I no wanna booster!"

"Son, you have to sit in the booster because you're short."

"Gams is short!" the toddler indignantly retorted.

Yuri was almost as tall as Makarov already, so to him this was a valid point. Why Makarov would need to sit in a booster seat or who would force him to get in one was a thought for more grownup minds.

Makarov chuckled at this. "Thunder Baby is quite a man, isn't he?"

Virgo poured dinner wine, and Laxus watched his wife reach for it quickly. And then Laxus reached for the glass she put in front of Yuri and then filled. He glared at her.

"No wine for the little human?" she innocently asked.

Laxus answered, "Nothing alcoholic for _any_ little human. Geeze."

"Good to know."

Loke started bringing plates of food and Ivan asked, "How long have you been married, son?"

Laxus answered, "We just had our third wedding anniversary. We've been together for four and a half years."

His mother asked, "How old is your oldest?"

"Two years and three months."

Charlotte nodded. "So that's how you of all people ended up married."

Lucy's fork clanged against the plate. "I'm sorry, are you implying something? Because I'm pretty sure you're not in a place to make judgments about my lifestyle."

All the men at the table became silent and still. Lucy had been afraid the fireworks would fly among the males, but for some reason, she and the person she believed to simply be Ivan's girlfriend were not clicking right.

They glared at each other.

Yuri decided to announce to everyone what the problem was. "Mama doesn't like you."

Makarov decided to change the subject because Lucy, while an amazing wife and mother, was not at all scared of a confrontation. This was the woman who called the Celestial Spirit King 'Mustache Dude' and yelled at all the living members of the royal family; Laxus' mother really had no idea what kind of devil she was tempting.

"Ivan, you've been staying out of trouble?" he asked.

Ivan nodded. "Mostly."

Makarov and Ivan spoke, and Laxus really just paid attention to the kids.

He was really trying to make it through the night without a fight breaking out, people yelling, discussions about feelings, or Lucy finding out his mother was not only not dead, she was the whore his father brought to the party.

Lucy found it really wasn't as bad as she'd imagined. Weird and dysfunctional families were still families. Ivan had the craziest, beady little eyes and she would probably knock his head off if he ever came around uninvited, but he was a human and still had connections to other humans. It was always weird to imagine one's enemies as real people, especially in this case.

Laxus was completely unnerved by the presence of the woman though, and Lucy was confused as to why for quite a while.

She watched him helping Yuri cut up his food and asked, "Do you think parenting makes you soft?"

"I suppose you have to ask questions about being a parent because you've never really been one," he snapped in reply.

And this was the moment Lucy knew.

Laxus regarded people he didn't like with disinterested disdain. For him to actually be upset with someone over something was fairly rare.

Lucy looked down at the woman's abnormally large hands, and how her bangs grew up and outwards, and the funny curve of the cartilage in her ear that Laxus and both of their children had and she knew.

The blonde sighed and downed all the wine in her glass, thankful when Virgo refilled it immediately.

Laxus had never really ever complained about her outbursts, but Lucy never disrespected him in front of others. She'd fussed at him in front of their closest friends or Makarov, but even when he pissed her off, they were still married and he was still her husband. She was going to give him hell as soon as everyone went home and the kids were in bed; that much she was sure of at that point.

Lucy focused her attention on trying to feed their daughter, who was very picky. She always considered it a high compliment to her cooking when Layla didn't throw the food off her plate and cry. There had been countless times that Layla not only refused to eat what was put before her, but she felt like she needed to express exactly how much she hated it by crying.

Layla Dreyar once threw herself on the floor, screamed, and slammed her fists onto the floor because Laxus tried to feed her a shrimp.

Laxus knew from the look on Lucy's face as she fed Layla that she'd figured it out, but he knew she wouldn't make a scene then.

Lucy was a really good wife and he'd known all along she deserved better. He just wasn't good about talking about his family and wished most of the time his mother and father did not exist.

He didn't _really_ want any of them there besides Makarov, but having a kid will change the way one feels about their parents and about obligation to family.

Lucy was equally enraged to the point of explosion that he'd lied to her and saddened he was very obviously going through something as they all sat at the table and he was forced to look at and experience his parents - the ones who abandoned him. And if his relationship with Ivan was bad, it seemed substantially better than the one he had with his mother.

As he got older, Laxus seemed more inclined to try harder to see good in people, but as he sat there, she knew he really didn't find any.

Makarov sensed the tension and said, "This is really good. I'm glad my grandson found such a good wife. You make good meals and cute babies. Plus you can put up with this one." He tilted his head toward Laxus and added, "I'm ready for Baby Number Three. I feel like you have a few more in you, Laxus."

"Unless you want to move in and change all the diapers and do all the 3 am feedings, you might be waiting quite a while," Laxus answered.

"Nevermind!" Makarov quickly answered.

Yuri was pensive because his father didn't seem normal.

Laxus' mother looked around and zeroed in on Lucy feeding Layla. "You shouldn't her her be so picky. Picky babies make whiny adults."

Lucy's eyes shot up, but before she could say anything Laxus snapped, "I've had enough of this. What are you going to tell my wife about how to be a mother?"

"Don't you disrespect me, young man!"

Ivan said, "Son, we don't need to get upset about anything."

Ivan just wanted to have a peaceful dinner with his family.

Laxus, never one to speak about the deeper things, put his fork down and swallowed. "I have two kids, and they depend on Lucy and me for everything. My son needs me, and he needs his mother. I'm sure when I was this age, I was the same way. I look at my son now that he's the exact age I was when I was left with Gramps and I can't even comprehend how you just left me. After that, you don't have any right to expect anything from me."

They were words unspoken for almost thirty years.

Yuri attempted to move from his booster seat to his father's lap, and when he slipped, Laxus automatically caught him and put him on his lap. "You're sad?"

"I'm fine."

Makarov told Ivan many times during Laxus' childhood that he better clean up his act and at least _try_ to be a father, because someday, he was going to get old and he would want to know his son.

Ivan remembered these conversations at that point.

"Son.."

"Don't call me that," Laxus snapped.

Makarov took a sip of his wine. "Well, we certainly know how to have a dinner party. The food is incredible, Lucy. Sorry the company isn't better."

Cake was eaten in silence and Laxus finally asked, "Honestly, what are you two even doing together?"

His mother thought for a moment and then said, "Laxus, we all know we made big mistakes with you. You get older, you realize you've been living for things that don't really matter. You were the best thing that ever happened to us. We don't really expect anything. We just wanted to see what you're up to."

"You're old and lonely. That's not my problem. We all made our own decisions, and we all have to live with them," Laxus answered, his voice flat and a little stale sounding. "You - either of you - being around here isn't part of my plan anymore than I was part of yours."

Lucy watched quietly and realized her husband at the age of twenty-seven was still upset at his parents for abandoning him. Then again, she occasionally felt angry at her father for dying, and that made even less sense.

Their kids were amazingly quiet and perplexed because like Lucy, they were used to Laxus being the unflappable father and calm husband that he normally was. It was strange to see him truly upset about something. Even Layla had noticed his unusual attitude and she looked upset too, as if the condition of Daddy being unhappy made her unhappy too.

Laxus went back to eating his food and was chewing a bite of pork when Ivan blurted out, "Well, Laxus. I'm dying from cancer, so it's not part of my plan either."

His son dropped the fork and swallowed a bite of half-chewed food. The first thing he did was look at Makarov, and Makarov wasn't surprised, which meant he'd already known about this.

Lucy stood up from the table. "Let me get the kids to bed. I don't want Yuri asking questions about…"

Ivan was about to utter the word 'death' but the blonde gave him a look that made him want to crawl under a rock and die right then and there.

"C'mon, son. It's getting late," she said, carrying Layla upstairs as she held Yuri by the hand.

"Ni-ni!" Yuri said.

"Ni-ni!" Layla echoed.

Laxus crossed his arms. "Is this all you wanted?"

Ivan nodded. "To have a nice dinner with my son and his family, just once."

"If you wanted us to have a nice dinner, you shouldn't have come."

Makarov said, "Laxus..."

He knew there was something weird and off about his father's scent, but now that he looked, he could tell Ivan was ill. Laxus really didn't know how to feel about that, and as he sat there and thought about all the years of crazy infighting, the plots, the schemes, the insults and the injuries, it was hard to believe that they were all really sitting there.

Laxus asked, "How long?"

"Three months, give or take. Last couple will probably be rough," Ivan said.

"What kind of cancer?"

"Pancreatic."

Laxus looked down at his food. "I heard that's a really terrible way to die." He looked up at his mother, and then back down again as she started to explain the plans they had from that point on.

Lucy didn't come back down, and Laxus was glad.

Ivan, over the course of his life, was like a bomb that exploded between Makarov and Laxus, causing damage to his father and his son. Laxus watched his grandfather carefully, and wondered what things were like when his father was little. He tried to imagine the two like he and Yuri were, but he could not.

When the guests stood to leave, Laxus walked them to the door.

"It's good to see you're doing well. I'd like to do this again if you'd have me," his mother patted his face.

Laxus shook his head once, but caved in a little. "Dinner, once a year only. Don't disrespect my wife."

Ivan stopped and picked up a picture frame from the console table by the door. He stared at the family photo for a while, and when he started to put it down, Laxus said, "You can take it if you want."

Ivan took it with a nod. "Thanks."

When Ivan stepped outside, he turned and looked at his son, and they stared at one another for a long time.

Laxus knew it was the last time he'd see his father.

They didn't say anything.

He shut the door, took a deep breath, and felt the strangest mix of emotions.

Laxus headed upstairs to find Lucy sitting on Yuri's bed, a kid squished up close to her on each side, practically climbing her as she read them a story.

" _...and when he came to the place where the wild things are, they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws…"_

Laxus smiled softly. "Sounds like he showed up at Fairy Tail."

Lucy laughed and he picked up his daughter and put her on his lap as he sat down beside her so Lucy could finish the story. She was the creative, imaginative, dramatic one, so watching her read a book to the kids was entertaining as hell that even he liked it sometimes. When he tried to read a story, the kids protested vehemently because he didn't 'do voices' like their mother did.

They tucked the kids in, turned out the lights, and got ready for bed.

Once they got to the bedroom, Laxus started to undress and Lucy opened a dresser drawer, looking for a nightgown.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

If she'd been anyone else in the whole world, he would have insisted he was fine, but she was his wife. Even if he did lie, she would call bullshit, initiate sex, and he'd end up spilling the beans in the ten to fifteen minutes after orgasm when he was would divulge any information she wanted.

"I don't know. Kind of a shit move, don't you think? He wasted his life on the most pointless things and now he's dying and he thinks he can come around and make peace with his past."

Lucy looked over her shoulder. "Are you sad?"

"Not really. Most people watch their parents die at some point. We're married, so this was going to happen eventually. My mother will die eventually too."

The blonde nodded. "When my dad died, I felt confused. I was angry he died, and sad that he was gone, and relieved he couldn't hurt me anymore."

Her husband flopped down on the bed in his boxers and rubbed his face. "My family is a pain in the ass. Sorry. I was sure you'd take off my head when you realized Charlotte was my mother. I've only seen her five times before tonight. It's _strange_ for me."

Lucy put on a silky pink nightie and turned out the lights before she crawled into bed beside him. "I was thinking we should get a dog."

"A dog?"

"Mhm. That way, we can get a dog house and when you decide to lie to me _for years_ , you'll have a place to sleep."

Laxus sighed. "I'm sorry, Babe."

She didn't really have a mind to give him a hard time about lying because he was obviously having far too many thoughts about things that were distressing. Since she knew what it was like to be an adult with daddy problems, she as a wife knew it was her job to have and to hold him, especially in times like these.

Her fingers slid under the waistband of his boxers and she pulled downward slowly.

When he felt her mouth on him, he gasped and pushed his head deeper into the pillow. After years together, Lucy had giving head down to an art form. She was really an over-achiever as a wife, but who was he to complain?

Lucy took her time, and she handled him properly. She drove every thought from his brain except a desperate need for her, and then she kept him there, writhing and begging.

And then:

"...I'm sorry about the markers…" he mumbled.

Lucy let him slip out of her mouth and burst out laughing, covering her mouth with her hand. "Baby, what is going on inside of your mind?"

"Nothing. Please continue."

She kissed his thigh. "I can forgive you because they were washable. Now then," she said as she climbed on top of him and took him in hand, giving him a little squeeze as she guided him into her. Lucy leaned down to kiss him and rolled her hips with practiced ease.

His eyes traced over her body, from her hips up to her breasts and then to that pretty face he'd been crazy in love with for so long. As Lucy grew into her twenties, she was getting even more beautiful. Motherhood looked especially good on her and she was so wonderful to him.

Once their romp came to its inevitable conclusion, Lucy went to sleep having spent most of the day cooking and cleaning while her husband 'watched' the kids.

While appreciative for his wife and all her many wonders, his mind went right back to his family and he got out of bed and looked in on his daughter first, then his son.

As he watched his son sleep, he pondered on the idea that someday, he'd probably die on Yuri too. That was the natural and normal thing, and honestly, Laxus didn't want to live in a universe where he outlived any of his babies. He wondered if Yuri would go to his funeral and how he would feel and what kind of relationship they'd have when Yuri was his age. He wondered if he'd ever have to look him in the eyes and tell him that he was going to die.

He wondered if his parents ever were excited and happy about him. Did Ivan feel him kick in the womb? Was he happy or sad about that? Did he experience the joy of becoming a father or had it always meant nothing to him?

Laxus laid down on the bed next to him and listened to the rhythmic sound of his son's breathing, his heartbeat, the way he was almost making a snoring sound as he slept with his mouth open.

After a few minutes, he nodded off and Lucy found them snuggled up in the little toddler bed, her husband's feet hanging off the end of the bed. She threw a blanket over both of her boys and gave each a gentle kiss before she headed back to bed.

The next morning, Laxus awoke with a monstrous back ache because he was a six and a half foot tall man who spent the night in a bed meant for people under three feet tall.

"You're a monster in bed. You can't just take up all the space in the bed," he complained in the morning.

Yuri sat up and looked down at him. "This my bed."

"So you think you can just sleep in the middle with your legs and arms all spread out?"

"Yeah!"

Laxus glared. "And you stole the blanket."

"This my bed!"

"And, you kick and roll around. No girl is going to want to share a bed with you."

Yuri seemed to think very hard about this comment, and then said, "Good."

Laxus laughed a little. "You know I love you, right?"

"I love you too, Daddy. Let's eat cereal, kay?"

The boy carefully selected some toys and went downstairs while Laxus went to the restroom and brushed his teeth. He woke his daughter up, and came down as Yuri climbed on a chair to demand his cereal. By this point in his life, Laxus was amazed Yuri didn't bleed Cheerios instead of blood.

It was Lucy's turn to go on a job, so he was on baby duty for a few days. He wanted her to sleep in since she might have to fight before the day was over.

The last time Lucy had gone on a job, she'd come back with a black eye and their son had become absolutely enraged when she explained to him someone hit her. The idea of a man hitting his mother in the face caused Yuri to feel the highest anger that is emotionally available to toddlers.

Laxus fed the kids and was reading the newspaper when he looked up and found Yuri had his dinosaurs, and Layla had her doll.

Layla didn't seem particularly interested in playing dinosaurs, but Yuri kept bringing his dinosaurs to her baby doll's face.

"He's biting her!" Yuri said.

Layla got annoyed pretty quickly and Laxus warned, "Son, you better give it a rest."

But he didn't.

"Rawrrr rawrrrrrrrrr. He's biting her and she's crying," Yuri said.

"Stop! Daddy!" Layla whined.

Laxus put the newspaper down. "Yuri."

Yuri continued with his growls and suddenly, Layla smacked him so hard upside the head with her doll that he fell over. Then she smashed his dinosaur with her doll, sat down, and hugged her doll.

Yuri reached for the dinosaur, and she hit him with the doll again.

"Stoop!" she squealed.

He pulled his hand back. "I sowwy!"

Layla hit him with the doll again just because, and then sat down and went back to her own business.

Laxus picked his newspaper back up with a smirk. Generally, he and Lucy didn't intervene with their occasional misunderstandings because if left alone, they'd usually work it out. They adored one another, so when it was over, they were always the best of friends.

It wasn't long before Layla came around with the big red ball, and they sat on the floor and rolled the ball around. "Sowwwy, Yuwi."

"S'okay."

The stark difference between boys and girls even at their age was interesting to Laxus. He honestly hadn't been trying to raise her with dolls and too much cutesy stuff, but that's what she seemed to prefer. And Yuri...Yuri ate worms and played in the dirt and pretty much constantly had skinned knees because he was crazy as all hell when it came to running and climbing.

Lucy came down with her bag. "You okay with me going?"

Laxus nodded. "Peachy. I'm going to take the kids grocery shopping earlier so I can watch Layla throw a temper tantrum in the candy aisle. I'll see how long she can hold her breath this time. The people who have never had a toddler will pass by and judge us. Also, we need milk."

His wife kissed him gently. "I love you."

"Love you too," he answered.

Lucy kissed the babies, but she didn't say goodbye because if they realized she was leaving, it would be a more dramatic ordeal than the candy aisle promised to be.

The blonde was headed down the path when Laxus followed her out of the house and grabbed her by the hand.

"What is it? Did I forget something?" Lucy took a mental inventory because toddlers tended to interfere with packing and it wasn't fun to end up somewhere with a handful of toy soldiers and no underwear.

Laxus pulled her into a tight embrace. "I just wanted to say thanks, that's all."

She relaxed in his arms. "I'm here for you, you know."

"You're a good wife. Is there anything you want? Just name it, and I'll make it happen."

His wife grinned a little. "I want to take the kids on a little vacation. North. Let them play in snow a little bit. We'll build a snowman together and have snowball fights. Drink hot cocoa and have some quality time. We could take Chelia and so we can have a little grownup time too. We haven't left Magnolia at the same time since I got pregnant with Yuri."

"Ah, it has been that long, huh. Sorry. I didn't even notice. What kind of shit husband doesn't take his wife on a vacation for _three years_?"

Lucy smiled. "It's okay. We have two toddlers. I walked around all day on Thursday and my shirt was inside out. Layla's walking now so this is the first time since we've been married that I'm not pregnant and we don't have a little baby."

Her husband grinned a little. "So what you're saying is you want to go on vacation and make a baby?"

"I can never tell if you're serious or not. Do you actually want to keep me pregnant all the time?"

"Is this a trick question?"

"I'm going to punch you in the stomach if you say yes."

"Why do you want to cause me pain?" he asked.

Lucy put her hands on her hips. "Says the guy who wants me to give birth again. I have to go, but I love you. I'm looking forward to putting snow down your pants."

"Put snow on my crotch and I'll put thunder in yours."

"Sounds like a date!"

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _Special thanks to kurahieiritr JIO, SuperPsychoNutcase, boyceashlee, katiekat2001, arouraleona, thealicehuntt, yumeyumi1986, crystalinowl, rere97maui, paname, ytygr, darkfae7, aryllia, sassykitten1701, mewhee89, sarasugarbug17, w1n6s-0f-f2r3, ladyallyssa, sidjr100, lunastarlady, thornado, killer-kelly420, megumiyoung, andy24amk, kamila-chan, and aoutre for reviewing!_


	29. The Vacation

And then the most embarrassing moment of Laxus' life:

Laxus found himself sitting in a crowded train station, trying to travel with two toddlers, one of which was already very fed up with the idea of 'vacation.' Yuri remained optimistic about the idea of going to a place he did not know, but Layla was cranky as hell and she didn't mind letting everyone know, especially her parents.

Chelia and Wendy were a part of this trip, due to the fact that they needed someone to watch the babies while they had their own time and Wendy could fix up the dragons with a troia spell to make sure Laxus and Yuri didn't puke all the way there. It was also sort of a getaway for them as well, and all was good and fine.

Yuri had to go to the bathroom, so his father took him and then afterward, he seemed pensive. It made his father nervous, because it meant Yuri was thinking very hard about something that happened in between when they went to the bathroom and when they boarded their last train.

The mind of a toddler, they'd learned, was actually a scary place.

So after the spell was cast and they were settling onto the train, Laxus looked down at Yuri and asked, "What are you thinking about right now?"

"I dunno," he answered as he stared out the window.

"You don't know what you're thinking about."

The toddler shrugged. "Maybe I'm hungry."

"Are you hungry? Or no?"

He shrugged again, this time more dramatically. "I dunno."

Laxus sighed and looked over at Lucy. "I'm going to take him to the dining car. Are you hungry? You want me to take Layla?"

Lucy shook her head. "She's about to fall asleep, so let's leave her alone if she'll stay that way."

The dining car was packed, but they managed to find a small booth to sit in. Laxus ordered a grilled cheese for his son and while they waited, Yuri looked up at him and asked a question while he was sipping at a glass of water.

"Daddy, how come you have so much hair where your penis is?" he loudly asked.

The dragon slayer very literally choked.

People stared, and laughed quietly.

Yuri pulled the elastic band on his pants out and looked down. "I gots none, Daddy. You have _so much_. Like a lot. How do I get some? I want lots and lots of black hairs all around my penis just like you."

There were at least fifteen people in range of them who overheard this and the toddler's father stewed in thinly-veiled horror for the better part of a minute.

"...well? How come, Daddy?"

Laxus said, "Yuri."

"Yes?"

"Remember what I told you? When is it okay for you to about that?"

"About what?"

"Your _privates_."

Yuri looked up in confusion. "I didn't say privates. I said PENIS."

This was toddler logic; he knew not to talk about his privates in public. He did not, however, correctly connect the idea that his penis was part of that group. He was indignant that his father was trying to silence him since he wasn't breaking the rules, and stared up at his father.

Yuri pinched his eyebrow and wiggled it. "Your face is doing this."

Laxus was well-aware that his eyebrow was twitching furiously, which was evidently his body's natural reaction to waiting to crawl under the table and hide from everyone currently watching and laughing.

"Son, we don't talk about our penises either. It's a private part. We keep them private."

The waitress brought a grilled cheese to his son and Yuri momentarily relented from trying to kill his father with embarrassment as he tore into the sandwich.

Yuri had been told this on more than one occasion. "But...Layla doesn't have one. Did a dinosaur bit it off?"

Laxus tapped his fingers on the table and wondered what the inside of his son's brain was actually like. How had Yuri gotten from penises, to his sister, to the conclusion that if his sister did not have a penis, a dinosaur attacked her and bit it off? "Son, is this what you've been thinking about all day?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. When we get to where we are going, you and I will have a man-to-man talk. But not before, and if you say the word 'penis' one more time before then, you're going to go _bzzzt_. Got that?"

Yuri nodded.

Was it safe or recommendable to discipline a child with small amounts of lightning? Probably not. But Laxus had been raised by a man who slapped him upside the head when he got out of line and he didn't feel it was ineffective or cruel to use physical punishment to teach children.

Lucy found spanking, shocking, thumping, and other forms of aggression as discipline to be unnecessary and wretched. This was a bone of contention between the husband and wife.

Laxus was so incredibly embarrassed as his son ate happily, unbothered by the people still giggling and whispering about them.

They returned to their compartment and Lucy saw Laxus was red in the cheeks.

"Are you alright?"

He rolled his eyes. "Your son…"

"My son? Who said, 'let's make a baby?' I think that was you. Remember?"

Her husband looked out the window, grateful at least to not be sick to his stomach as was the norm. "You didn't have to say 'yes.' One of us has to be the adult, and think it's usually not me."

"You think?" she sarcastically asked, "He's my responsibility because I didn't tell you no?"

"Yes, and you can talk to him about his penis."

His wife shook her head furiously. "Oh no indeed, mister. That's your job as his father."

Laxus grumbled under his breath and reached for Layla's shoes as she slept in her mother's arms.

"Laxus, your daughter has finally cried herself to sleep. I swear if you wake up this baby, I will throw you off the train myself," she threatened.

"If she wakes up and starts crying again, I'll jump," he answered as he felt his son curl up on the seat.

Yuri was now well fed and therefore ready for a nap. He spent most of the rest of the trip sleeping with his head on his father's lap.

They were still groggy when they arrived at the mountain resort, and Laxus found himself dragging tons of luggage around while Chelia and Lucy carried the kids. Wendy carried their things, and trailed behind with him until they got to a cabin that was part of a cluster of little log houses that had paths leading to a large spa and restaurant with various other amenities.

It was a good place to vacation.

Cranky kids awoke to a cold winter wonderland that looked nothing like the greener, temperate city of Magnolia.

Blankets were switched for thick coats, boots, scarves, gloves, and hats.

The proper use of a coat was a recurring struggle with Yuri, who, in his attempts to 'be just like Dad,' _refused_ to put a coat on properly. Lucy estimated they'd had at least a thousand wars with him over whether or not he had to put his arms in the arm holes. Laxus had yet to answer his son's important question on this matter: _why does Daddy do it?_

The time finally fame to bring the kids out to play in the snow, and they brought the excited toddlers onto the porch of the cabin.

"Cold," Layla said as she toddled about toward the ocean of white that existed just at the edge of a covered patio area. She looked up at Lucy, and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. "What's it?"

' _What's it'_ and 'why' were two of the most common phrases spoken in their family. She'd learned some of her peculiar enunciations from her brother, such as 'Gams,' 'Goomomo!', Caihave (can I have), and making words plural for no reason.

"It's snow. It's like ice, only fluffy."

Yuri let go of Laxus and ran full-force to the snow, then took cautious steps into it. He patted it with his hand, and tasted it. Then he flopped down in it and thrashed around a little before he got up and tried to run in it.

"Son, that's not food," Lucy said.

Layla also attempted to eat it, but spit it out. "Coooold!" She held up the handful of snow to her mother expectantly.

Lucy shook her head. "I think our daughter wants us to warm up the snow so she can eat it."

The baby nodded.

"You want some water?" her mother asked.

"I want dis."

"But warm?"

Layla nodded.

Lucy knelt and said, "Baby, when snow gets warm, it turns into plain old water."

"Noooo!"

Her mother and father looked at one another in resignation as she threw herself face-first into the snow and threw a temper tantrum because they couldn't make her snow warm without turning it into water.

Lucy scraped her off the ground and reasoned with her and after a few minutes, she calmed down and accepted the fact there would be no warm snow. And just like that, it was as if nothing happened and she was happy and free to go back to business as usual.

Yuri ran to her and held out his hand. "C'mon!"

The toddlers trudged through the shallow snow, fell, got up laughing, and went a little further. Just moving around in the snow seemed like fun to them, and the whole world was different - nothing but white and the green of trees that dotted the landscape.

Yuri inadvertently stepped in a hole and vanished completely for a moment, causing his sister to shriek and their father to rush to his aid.

"So you guys want to build a snowman with me and Mama?" he asked.

"Snowman?" Yuri asked.

While the family started to work on a massive snowman, Laxus' mind drifted continuously back to his father. He had a few scattered memories of his father that weren't awful, but by and large, most of his time with his father wasn't particularly good and it was rare to start with.

Laxus remembered learning how to fish with Ivan one night when they were camping in the woods. Ivan spent all night telling him crazy stories of wizarding, and he felt like a son. But when he woke up the next day, Ivan had left him in the woods by himself and he ended up spending a few days lost and upset.

But during the brief time it lasted, it had been kind of fun.

The snowman might have gotten a little out of hand as he and Yuri rolled up an enormous ball of snow, but the kids were having a good time, and Lucy was having fun. He really _did_ feel a little guilty it had been so long since they got to go anywhere together.

Lucy stood on her tiptoes and pulled him down for a quick kiss. "Don't forget to talk to your son about his p-e-n-i-s because you know if you don't answer his questions, he'll just ask someone else. Probably his Gams."

Laxus sighed. "That would be a nightmare. I've had all those kinds of talks with Gramps. It never goes well. I think he taught me about gonorrhea when I was ten. To this day, I don't know if he was speaking from fear or experience."

Laxus carried his daughter to a clump of trees where some branches that had broken off were on top of the snow. "You wanna pick the arms?"

Layla chose giant branches that actually made their snowman look a little scary and monstrous, but the kids were pleased with it and then they let Layla press his candy mouth on, and Yuri put his eyes and nose on.

"What are we going to name him? We could name Frosty, or Icy, or Snowy," Lucy asked.

"Uncle Gray!" Yuri said.

Lucy was a little surprised by this. "That's actually smart. Why?"

The blonde was _expecting_ her very intelligent son to say it was because Gray used ice and snow was like ice. But instead, this:

"Cause he's not wearing clothes," their son matter-of-factly answered.

Layla nodded insistently.

That made sense too, just in a way that made a parent shake their head and laugh quietly.

They made another snowman, which Yuri named Juvia, and then a little snowbaby. Lucy knew Gray probably wouldn't appreciate that Yuri was making him a whole snow family, but really it showed Yuri was starting to understand people a little better. He had observed that Juvia likes Gray like Mom likes Dad, so naturally, he thought of them as a family unit.

Yuri named the Fullbuster snowbaby 'Wormface.'

Layla went along with this insanity like a trusted sidekick, offering agreements and help as she could.

Lucy stood there as the family admired their work and said, "I feel like our son is more emotionally mature than Gray is right now."

"You wouldn't give him that much credit if you heard what he said on the train," Laxus answered.

Lucy found all of this quite cute, but suddenly it felt like Thunder Baby was growing up really fast. She could still remember quite clearly when she found out she was going to be a mother, and not long after when she felt him moving inside of her. Now, Yuri was walking and talking and thinking. He had his own opinions about things and his own personality.

Secretly, she bemoaned that he'd lost most of his baby fat over the past few months because she loved her cute little chubby Thunder Baby. Yuri also unveiled during this process that he was hiding Laxus' chin and cheekbones under his cute little squishy face, so he looked a lot more like his father as he transitioned from looking like a huge baby to looking like a little boy.

Laxus sat in a chair on the porch to watch over the little ones as they played and she sat in his lap, leaning against him with a sigh of contentment. When she tilted her head up, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"This was a good idea. They're having a great time," he said.

Lucy said, "I'm having a good time too. I'll make sure _you_ have a great time later, okay?"

"Can we try that thing?"

"NO," she emphatically answered.

Laxus huffed, "Where's your spirit of adventure?"

His wife glared at him. "It's not going to be in my butt, and neither are you."

"You might like it."

The blonde shifted on his lap in a way that was kind of uncomfortable for him and she knew it. " _You_ might like it too. Where's your spirit of adventure?"

Laxus paled a little. "I'll never speak of this again."

"Thank you. I'm glad we've been able to clear that up."

That night after a round of hot cocoa, smores, dinner, kid baths, story time, and tucking babies in, they finally made it to bed and fell asleep happy before they got around to their own little 'vacation.'

XXX

The next morning, Yuri was up at dawn as was his custom and after Cherrios, he wanted to go straight outside and play in the snow. Laxus decided it was probably a good time to address his questions, and after bundling him up properly, took him outside.

Laxus knelt in the snow and made a snowball.

"You making another man?" Yuri asked, thinking he was preparing another snowman.

Laxus perfected the snowball and stood. "The one man I made is quite enough for me right now. You know what else you can do with snow?"

"What?" Yuri innocently asked.

His father hit him squarely in the chest with the snowball and probably more due to surprise than anything, Yuri fell on his butt, looking wounded, surprised, and shocked.

"You hit me!"

"You've had that one coming."

Yuri stood up and dusted the snow off his jacket and then tried to replicate his father's actions. He made a lopsided, loose snowball and threw it at his father's shin.

Laxus found a nice little hill of snow and started to fashion it into a snow fort, giving his son instructions to pack the snow with him.

"So, about my hair," he said.

"Your penis hairs?"

"Those."

Laxus cringed a little. "They're called pubic hair. You'll get them eventually, when you grow up. Maybe in like ten years."

Yuri had a pretty decent idea of his basic numbers, but a year was an incomprehensibly long period of time. "Will they be dark?"

"They'll probably look just like mine."

"Will my penis get big?"

"It grows like the rest of your body."

"And scary?"

"I guess? That's kind of a disturbing question."

Yuri seemed pleased with these answers, and Laxus moved on to his other question. "Girls are born without them. It doesn't involve dinosaurs."

"Oh," Yuri seemed almost disappointed by this answer.

Laxus was supremely grateful that he had no further questions on the subject of girls. Then again, Yuri was deathly terrified of all little girls besides his own sister. "I have a question for you, Son."

Yuri looked up at him.

"Is Gajeel scary to you?"

"No."

"Is Natsu scary to you?"

"No."

"Erza?"

"No."

"Mirajane?"

"No."

"How about Anna, that little girl at the park?"

Yuri stopped smashing the snow into a wall and looked down. "Ummm…not scary but…"

"But what?"

"...ummmmmmmmm…"

The boy thought somewhat intensely about how to attach words to his social anxiety toward his female peers. "I forget how to talk," he finally said.

One of his father's brows quirked up in question. "You forget how to talk."

"Yeah."

"Oh, I get it. You're not weird, you're just shy around girls your age. That's kind of a relief."

Laxus wondered if maybe Laxusism was a real thing.

Yuri gave him a bit of a dirty look and rubbed a handful of snow in his father's hair as they worked.

Laxus returned the favor in kind, and within seconds they were slinging snow at each other.

When it was over, they sat behind the fort and started making snowballs and plans together that would inevitably enrage the two women of the house entirely. But Laxus loved getting on his wife's nerves and like his social anxiety, he'd passed this along to his young son.

"Hey look," Yuri said.

He took a really deep breath and made some constipated-sounding groan as he exhaled. A lightning bolt came out of his mouth and extended about three feet.

Laxus asked, "I think I'm not ready for you to be able to do that."

"How 'bout this?"

Yuri reached out and touched his leg and a jolt of lightning coursed through Laxus. It was light, but it was enough it probably would have startled if not hurt an ordinary person.

"Definitely not that. Don't ever do that to anyone else, okay?"

He leaned in and whispered. "Can I see your lightning, Daddy?"

For a lot of reasons, Laxus had never really showed off what he could do to Yuri. Outside of giving him little shocks and occasional light household use, Yuri had never seen it. Laxus had never breathed lightning around him, so he'd pretty much figured out what he knew on his own.

"Just this one time. And you can't tell your mom."

"'K."

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

Laxus took a deep breath and let out a full force dragon's breath that extended from where they were to the top of the mountain and then onward into the sky. The conical shape meant that at the top, it was wider than the peak of the mountain, and it was ferociously huge magic that made his son tremble at his side in pure wonder.

And then, there was what Laxus would later call a 'minor avalanche' that caused snow to slide down the mountain. It wasn't a lot, but a small avalanche is still an avalanche. The snow was mostly stopped by a cliff, but some dumped over the edge and cascaded a foot of snow down against the cabin but completely missed the snow fort.

He heard the patio door open one minute later and Lucy rammed it open, pushing a couple of inches of snow out of the way.

Lucy's glare was furious as she looked up at the sky. "Good morning, Thunder Baby and Bigger Thunder Baby. Can one of you please explain to me _what you are doing a seven o'clock in the morning causing an avalanche?!"_

Yuri pointed. "Daddy did it!"

Laxus reached for a snowball and threw it, hitting her right on the side of her head. "Good morning."

Lucy stood there, barefoot in the snow in her robe, and she stared her husband down until any ordinary man would have crawled on his belly to beg for forgiveness. "Let me get dressed, and we'll settle this."

Laxus waited for her to go inside and said, "You little traitor…"

He decided to forgive him because his mother's wrath was nothing to sneeze at, as evidenced by the fact she brought with her to the snowball fight: Chelia, Wendy, Layla, Virgo, Aquarius, Aries, and Lyra.

The Dreyar men were pelted with snowballs made by Virgo at hyperspeed and lobbed at high velocity mostly at Laxus by Aquarius because snow is technically water.

By the time it was over, the men were practically buried in snow and Lucy yawned, picked up her daughter, dismissed her spirits, and went back to bed.

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to kurahieiritr JIO, katiekat2001, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, boyceashlee, yumeyumi1986, mewhee89, darkfae7, adabs18, ladyallyssa, savygirl1515, SuperPsychoNutcase, thornado, andy24amk, sidjr100, guest, rere97maui, undertheskys, megumiyoung, sassykitten1701, killer-kelly420, arouraleona, lunastarlady, and the alicehuntt for reviewing!**_


	30. The Promotion

Early summer brought a strange letter in the mail, and Laxus stared at it with dread before he actually opened it. Makarov left him in charge of the guild while he went on 'vacation,' which Laxus assumed was somewhat of a cover for going to where Ivan was.

A month later, this letter came, and after opening it, he found it short and to the point.

His kids were playing in the yard, under the watchful eyes of their nanny. He watched them for a long time through the window as they played in the sandbox. Raijin was laying in the sun, one eye on her little dragon cubs. It seemed like a great day, but it didn't feel great anymore.

Lucy came in with groceries in hand, and he took the bags from her and carried them to the kitchen. She was talking a lot and at a quick pace about running into one of the other neighborhood moms. There was some kind of rivalry among them and Lucy was just petty enough to participate when it suited her. He believed her feelings were rooted all the way back in childbirth class when one of them spread gossip she was a single mom.

But she realized he was upset about something and stopped mid-sentence. "Baby, what's the matter?"

"Gramps sent a letter. My dad died last Friday."

Lucy put the bunch of celery in her hand down on the counter and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, Baby."

Laxus looked down and gave her a pat on the head. "It's okay, Lucy. It wasn't like he was much of a dad. I don't care that much."

She just squeezed him tighter, and he reluctantly wrapped his arms around her and let her comfort him.

Laxus was a very uncomplicated person, and when he reached a certain threshold of emotion, regardless of what that emotion was, the way to level him off was sex. He required high maintenance and a great deal of effort, but he wasn't at all confusing or complex. With him, nearly everything could be answered with food or sex.

"You want to go upstairs for a bit?"

He nodded, but when they got upstairs, he seemed stiff and uncomfortable, and then nothing really happened. This only increased his frustration, because that kind of thing just didn't happen to him, and while he'd been married long enough not to be too embarrassed by it, it didn't make the experience any more pleasant.

Being the wonderful wife she was, Lucy just rolled over. "We don't really have time anyway, right? We should get dinner ready and we'll handle this tonight if we get around to it. Deal?"

"Gramps asked me to make a few arrangements. He's bringing the body to Magnolia."

Laxus dressed and left the house to handle this business because he wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible. As he left, he stopped briefly to hug on his babies a little, as their sweet little faces always made everything easier.

Fairy Tail had its own little cemetery where members rested, and Yuri was there. Makarov would be there, and someday, Laxus would be eventually too. But Ivan wasn't a member of Fairy Tail, so even in death he'd ultimately be separated from them.

Laxus was fine with this.

At least if he was dead, he'd stop running away all the time and stay in one place, he thought to himself.

He bought a little patch of dirt in the city cemetary, and hired some people to dig a hole. Laxus really didn't do it for Ivan; he cooperated because his grandfather's son had died.

Then he went home to his wife and his babies and reflected only briefly on how Ivan really did throw away the only things in life that actually mattered.

A few days passed, and Makarov returned to Magnolia.

Laxus met him at the plot, but noticed immediately that his grandfather looked absolutely terrible. His eyes were puffy, and there were dark circles under them. He was pale and weak looking, and he had such a sad look on his face.

"Gramps…"

Makarov put his hand on the coffin, and stared down into the hole. "Thank you. Thank you, Laxus. Do you want to see the body?"

"Not really. That kind of thing doesn't do much for me. Dead is dead. I can smell it."

"I think you should."

Again, only to humor his grandfather, he opened the coffin and looked down at Ivan Dreyar one last time. He looked considerably worse than Laxus thought he would. He'd been so skinny he looked roughly like a bunch of bones in a withered sack of chalky skin. He barely even looked human, and the way his bony fingers were folded together made his son's skin crawl a little.

Laxus closed the coffin again. "He had it rough?"

Makarov nodded. "It was terrible in the end. Those last few hours made me anxious for it to be over so he could just rest. I'm glad it's over."

Makarov gestured to the workers and they lowered the coffin into the ground, and then started throwing dirt on it. Laxus and Makarov stood there on that beautiful day and watched Ivan's burial in silence.

Laxus noticed Makarov trembling as he stood there and knelt.

The old man was surprised as hell when Laxus hugged him, but as soon as he did, he couldn't help but cry. This was the way it always was; Ivan left, and they had to deal with it. And yet, his son was dead and as a father, there was no worse feeling in the world.

Laxus hated his father most of all for breaking a mighty man like Makarov down like this. He could hear his grandfather's heart pounding as he cried like a baby over a man who was hardly a son. And then he heard his heart make a few erratic, loud noises, and Makarov released him to clutch his chest.

Makarov gasped for air, but Laxus could hear his heart wasn't beating.

"Shit! Gramps, you bastard, don't do this!"

He swept him up in lightning form and took him straight to Porlyusica, who was able to help him not die from the heart attack, but had him moved to the hospital. This led to a mountain of forms Laxus had to sign as his next of kin, a very long surgery, and an even longer wait.

Lucy joined him during the surgery and sat quietly with him.

The whole guild ended up piling into the waiting room of the hospital, and the hospital staff asked everyone to leave who wasn't part of his immediate family, which was met with complaints, arguing, and other noise.

Laxus finally snapped and shouted, "LEAVE!" in a way that communicated very clearly that this was not optional. He had an expression that threatened severe retribution for arguments, attitude, or complaints.

And then it was quiet again.

After what felt like an eternity, the surgeon came out talking recovery times, damaged tissue, medication schedules, rehabilitation, exercise routines, special diets, stress management, and so forth. Some of these things magic could assist with, but not most of it.

This was Ivan's parting gift: Makarov ended up experiencing such great emotional stress he had a massive heart attack.

The surgeon said, "This is going to be a major transition for Mr. Dreyar. He lives alone?"

Laxus nodded. "He has an apartment by the guild."

"To be honest, your grandfather probably won't ever be able to live alone again, especially not for the next year or so. Before he's released, you need to make other arrangements. Is there someone in the family that he can stay with?"

Laxus really couldn't believe anything like this was happening. "I'm his only family."

"I have a list of facilities. And, it goes without saying he has to quit his job effective immediately. I understand his role is important, but if he dies, he won't be able to perform his duties either," the surgeon stressed.

The surgeon spoke with them a long time and let them know they could go in and see him in an hour, and this left Laxus and Lucy with a world of questions.

They looked at one another, and Lucy spoke first, "I'm glad he's going to make it."

Laxus opened a pamphlet with local retirement homes and closed it quickly. "Lucy…I don't want to put Gramps in a home. Would you be okay with him moving in with us? That's a big thing to ask. Gramps is a pain in the ass."

Lucy saw pretty sparse options. Makarov wasn't really the first person she'd want to move in with them, but he was family. Besides, he'd taken in Laxus when he was a child and needed love and care so she knew Laxus' character was completely contrary to not being willing to do the same.

"Laxus, this is our family, right? We take care of our family. We can move the kids into Layla's room and let Gramps move into Yuri's old room. I think both the kids and Gramps will be happy to have more time together. Retiring to spend time with his great grandkids will be the best choice, I think."

"You're sure this is okay? Remember my grandfather is…"

Lucy hugged his arm. "I know the man, Laxus. And I know he's family and we love him."

These were things real families went through: taking care of the aging and death.

Laxus never envisioned this kind of thing might happen. He always assumed his grandfather would live to be at least a hundred and fifty and then die in battle or doing something reckless or stupid.

When it was time for them to go see Makarov, the old man seemed weak and tired, but alert. The first thing he demanded was to talk to Lucy, alone. Laxus found this request peculiar, but left anyway and returned to the waiting room.

Lucy sat next to him and squeezed his hand affectionately. "Hey Gramps. I'm really glad to see you."

Makarov forced himself to smile a little. "I'm glad to see your pretty face too. I have something I have to talk to you about before I talk to my grandson."

"Okay…"

"I want to name Laxus the next guildmaster of Fairy Tail. There isn't anyone more qualified and I don't have any hesitation about whether or not he has the right character. I don't know if you've noticed this but as Laxus has raised his family, he's naturally become a leader. Everyone looks up to him, and he's become very patient...I think we have Thunder Baby to thank for that. I don't know if that's still a dream of his; I haven't heard him mention it in ages."

Lucy nodded. "I think he'd be honored. And I think he'd be an excellent guildmaster."

Makarov said, "So that brings me to my request for you. Retire."

The blonde felt like he'd punched her in the stomach. The blow was abrupt and a little heavy, and her first response was to indignantly say, "What? No. Of course not."

"Laxus can't be your husband and your guild master if you're going on jobs. It represents a serious conflict of interest and puts him in the position of approving when and how you put your life in danger. Besides, as guild master, it'll be different. He'll be in Magnolia more often, but he won't be constantly at home like he is when you two are taking turns going on jobs. He'd stress over trying to be at the guild and look after this kids while you're on jobs."

Her heart felt a little broken at the request. Her dreams and Laxus' dreams had never been at odds before. They'd always wanted the same things and worked for the same things. Her husband had always respected her career. Always.

But everything Makarov said was right.

She knew Laxus would have a problem sending his wife and the mother of his children into danger for money. She knew guild masters worked long hours and if she was on a job, that meant their kids wouldn't see either of their parents. She knew she would become a liability to him.

Makarov said, "I understand if you don't want to. If you say you want to continue working in the field, I won't even offer it to Laxus because I think it would only cause problems in your marriage. Erza can do the job. I would prefer her be guild master than to cause problems for you and your husband."

If she simply refused, nothing would change and they would continue to live like they had. Love babies, take turns on jobs, and find balance along the way. But if she went along with it, he'd achieve his lifelong dream of being the leader of Fairy Tail and she'd have to step into a more supportive role.

Even she knew Laxus was the most qualified. He was strong, loyal, dependable, and patient. He was smart and he had good judgment.

Her grandfather-in-law said, "It wouldn't mean the end of magic for you. You could take students, mentor the kids...the guild has a lot of young kids again. You'd accomplish more helping them than going on jobs, I promise. None of them have mothers. Some just need someone to talk to and love on them a little. You two work separately now going on jobs, but if you worked together building the guild, I think you'd be happy once you adjusted. You'd make a really good team."

Lucy liked going on jobs. She loved the adventure, the fighting, the sense of accomplishment, and the feeling that she was productive. Their joint income made her feel proud and independent in a way, even though she was a married woman with kids. She didn't like the idea of being reliant on him, even though he'd always been a good provider and had never made her feel any kind of way about it.

If she said no, Makarov would never tell Laxus why he didn't get chosen as guildmaster. Lucy knew it would really bother her husband though.

Could she give up her career for his dream?

Lucy nodded. "Okay, Gramps."

Makarov squeezed her hand. "I'm so glad you two found one another."

"Me too," she tearfully whispered.

"Besides, if you don't have to worry about jobs, you're schedule is clear to have more babies."

Lucy just shook her head. "I'd hit you but I don't think you can take it."

Makarov smirked. "Send your husband in here, okay?"

The blonde walked out and met her husband in the waiting room. He saw she seemed disappointed and had a tear hanging from an eyelash, which he swept away with his thumb.

"Everything okay?"

Lucy nodded and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. "Everything's great. Gramps is ready to see you."

Laxus went in and sat with him. The two men stared at each other for a while, and Laxus crossed his arms as he slouched in the black plastic chair. "Don't pull that shit with me again, old geezer."

"I didn't ask you for help. Next time, just leave me be. I'm surprised you didn't just kick me over into the grave."

"I thought about it."

Makarov laughed and then held his chest. He'd been cut from his navel to his collarbone, and even he knew it was considerably more serious this time. "You're a good man, and I think you're ready. It's apparently time for me to retire. Fucking hell. But, you'd make a good master and I trust you. Having a family leveled you off and gave you what you need."

Laxus felt like Makarov was going to fight to hold on to his job, so it was such a surprise. It was an even bigger surprise that he'd pick him for it. Since he'd gotten married he hadn't mentioned it and dividing his time between wizarding and family had possibly put him behind Erza. It was still a dream of his, and he did believe he could do well by his guild.

"Let me talk to Lucy."

"I already talked to her."

Laxus never would have asked Lucy to give up her job. Not ever. Since the beginning of their relationship, they'd always been respectful of wizard life. The idea she would give that up to support him in his dream made him feel so much gratitude and love toward her.

The two men talked for an hour, and Laxus finally nodded in agreement.

Makarov was quiet for a long time after that, but finally said, "I don't even know what I'll do without it."

"Lucy and I decided you're going to stay with us. It's really better than living alone. Yuri and Layla would love to have their Gams around all the time," he said.

Laxus said this without acknowledging Makarov could no longer stay by himself or forcing his grandfather to acknowledge it. His grandfather was old, and rightfully deserved a high degree of respect. The last thing Laxus wanted was to damage his pride or make him feel like an invalid. Despite the weakness of his body, Makarov was still one of the world's greatest wizards.

"I guess that sounds interesting."

XXX

Laxus could remember their house seemed incredibly huge when he first bought it for his fiancee. Then it was just he and she living there as they awaited the arrival of their first child. Now, the four bedrooms were occupied by them, Chelia, the two babies, and they were in the middle of preparing Yuri's old room for Makarov.

That made six people living in the house.

Lucy had a box from Makarov's apartment that seemed kind of heavy, and Laxus took it from her and carried it up to his new room. The bottom fell out of the box and porn magazines fell all over the floor, prompting Yuri, who was sitting on Makarov's new bed, to come closer to see what these brightly colored things were.

A bolt of lightning came and they turned to ash.

"You killed his books," Yuri said.

"Yes, I did."

"Why come?"

"Gams is too old for books with pictures," Laxus explained.

"Oh. Okay."

His son was territorial about his old room, but when they explained that Gams was sick and needed his room, Yuri was more than happy to give it up.

The kids' room went from being pink to a neutral yellow, even though Yuri didn't know the room was pink, or the significance of it. Yuri's room went from being bright colors (a pointless investment for a colorblind baby), to white.

It was quite an effort.

The move was mostly an upgrade for Makarov. The old man lived in a small, cluttered and mostly dark apartment, but was rarely home so none of that mattered. His new bedroom was big, roomy, and had sweeping views of the lake.

Lucy wanted Makarov to feel like it was an upgrade, so she invested in new furniture and sheets and curtains and just moved his personal effects in. Makarov had enough books to fill book cases all the way down one wall.

Life was changing pretty dramatically after several years of peace where the only change had been babies.

Laxus looked over at his wife and smiled softly at her while they unpacked the last of Makarov's books. She smiled back, and then they both looked over at their son who was talking a thousand miles an hour about all the things he was going to do with Gams.

"Son, when Gams gets here, he's been sick, so you have to leave him alone for a while until he starts feeling better," Laxus said.

"K. But then!"

That night, Yuri built a pillow fort in his new room and he and Layla hid under it long after bedtime, whispering to one another.

Lucy went by to check on them and decided not to bust them for not being asleep or even trying to sleep because they were handling their little transition well. It always made her heart happy to see what close friends they were, because she'd been so lonely growing up. Yuri and Layla would never have to know what that was like as long as they had each other.

The more time she had to think about it, the less she minded the sacrifice she'd made for her husband.

He was so grateful to her, and that made her happy. It would be different if he just took it and ran, but Laxus wasn't that kind of guy at all. Of course, he knew how much being a wizard and going on jobs meant to her and he expressed a quiet kind of gratitude.

Being a guild master - at least for Makarov - was like being a second father to most of the kids in the guild. It seemed like a good fit for Laxus now that he'd become such an outstanding father. Lucy had never considered those same kids might benefit from having a woman to help care about them and help them grow and learn the light side of magic.

Plus, she looked forward to working with her husband and being around the guild more. The job-family-job-family rotation by its nature had put her out of touch with many of her friends in the guild.

By the time Makarov came home two weeks after his surgery, they were eager, knowing he was getting antsy in the hospital. Wendy and Porlyusica were able to curb the healing time on the surgical wound, but the weakened heart that required drastic lifestyle changes was all on the Dreyars. And no one envied the family that had to try and make Makarov Dreyar stop drinking, smoking his pipe, and eating fatty foods.

Makarov had already made up his mind to be stubborn as hell about it and only to suffer Lucy because she was such a wonderful person.

When he saw his new room, it made him feel a little happy, like they really didn't mind him being there.

Most of that morning, he spent resting, but around noon, Lucy brought him a salad with fruit and some baked chicken and the little ones used the opportunity to try and crawl in the bed with him.

"Not yet. Leave Gams alone, he's still getting better."

Makarov shook his head. "It's fine. I'm not that fragile."

"Gams! Gams! Gams! Gams!"

Layla snuggled up on one side. "Wuvuuuu Gams!"

Yuri got on the other side. "You want us to tell you a story?"

"Oh? Okay, that sounds like fun."

Yuri stood on the end of the bed with his play sword while Makarov picked at his salad. "Once upon a time, there was a man. His breath was stinky. And he had no pants."

"What was his name?" Makarov asked.

"Laxus," Yuri said.

Lucy had never heard their son utter his father's name before. "Laxus?"

"That's what you call Daddy when he's being bad. You say 'LAXUS!'"

The blonde burst out laughing when she realized that she really always called her husband 'Baby,' 'Honey,' or 'Dad,' except when she was pissed. So her son didn't realize that was really his name. "Baby, that's Daddy's real name."

"Eh?"

Makarov laughed deeply at his great grandson.

"Dad's name is Dad."

Layla nodded. "Dad is Dad!"

Lucy said, "That's what he does. He's a dad. Like your name is Yuri Dreyar. And her name is Layla Dreyar. Dad's name is Laxus Dreyar. I'm Lucy Dreyar. And Gams is Makarov Dreyar. See, we're all in the same family so we have the same last name. Everyone is a Dreyar."

Yuri seemed stunned by this revelation, but only briefly. Then he held up his sword. "And he had stinky feets."

Makarov chuckled until Laxus came in and stared at his son.

Laxus asked, "What were you saying about me?"

"Nothing," Yuri answered.

Layla stretched out her arms. "Daddy!"

Laxus picked her up and held her on her hip, giving his son a glare to inform him he better be careful about the boundaries he'd been testing of late. He kissed his daughter on the forehead. "I have to go to work, Princess."

"I wanna go work," she whined.

Her father said, "Oh, do you? You want to get a job, earn some money, pay some bills?"

Layla nodded.

Laxus looked at his wife. "You mind if I take her with me? She'll probably spend all day with Mirajane and Lisanna."

"Mira Mira!" his daughter exclaimed.

Lucy shook her head and Laxus lowered her so she could kiss her mom, her gramps, and her brother goodbye.

As soon as the front door closed, Yuri stood up with his sword. "And then! There was a bad dragon. And a princess named Mom. She had all the pants. She gave the bad man some pants, and a toothbrush. Then he made the dragon go _bzzzt!_ "

Makarov laughed. "That was a good story about a pretty princess civilizing a savage. It's a good summary of how your parents got together."

Lucy waited until he finished eating and took his medicine, but Makarov wanted Yuri's company and the two spent most of the afternoon together. Makarov played dinosaurs with him, and told him about what his father was like as a child.

Meanwhile at the guild, Laxus spent much of the late morning and early afternoon approving job requests and interacting with the guild members. Natsu brought his son to the guild, and Laxus groaned under his breath because anytime his daughter got around the little salamander baby, she wanted to sit with him and pet his hair. She was old enough to walk and talk and Iggy was just able to sit up on his own, but to Layla, this mattered not.

Mirajane stood behind the counter and giggled at his scowl. "Honestly, Laxus, they're just babies."

"She doesn't have to be nice. Not to this little asshole, and definitely not to Sam Redfox."

Laxus was leaning with his back against the back, observing Layla and Iggy as they played on a blanket on the floor.

She brought him a beer and said, "Have you considered that maybe you're overreacting, calling other people's children bad words? Iggy's such a sweetheart."

The overprotective father rolled his eyes and leaned back on his elbows. "Whatever."

Laxus felt dark energy at his back as she leaned over and partially transformed. The demon whispered in his ear, "Iggy is also my nephew so you better make sure I don't ever hear that again or I'll pull your spine out and shove it down your throat."

The guildmaster's eyes bugged out as he cut them to one side and saw her return to her cheerful, sweet self. "Okay, Master?" she sweetly asked.

"Okay..."

Iggy Dragneel had white hair and big green eyes and he actually was a fairly good natured baby. Laxus didn't mind when they watched him at all. Like Yuri, he'd been terrible as a newborn but he grew out of it fairly quickly and was a fairly lovable little kid. He adored Yuri and Layla both.

Laxus watched his daughter sit up on her heels and feel all over Iggy's hair. Lucy did this to Laxus all the time as a gesture of affection, so he assumed she'd learned it from her mother.

"Iggy, you so soffffft!" she squealed.

She kissed his little chubby cheek and was abruptly snatched off the floor by her father and hauled off to his office, which he locked.

Laxus sat her on the floor and asked, "Why, Layla?"

Her natural response to being taken away from her little baby friend was to throw a temper tantrum. She hit the floor face-first and held her breath, which her father responded to by ignoring her completely and starting on his paperwork. It went on for longer than he expected, and he finally sighed when her hiccuped cries ended.

Laxus rolled his chair out and looked at her. "Are you okay now?"

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Igggyyyyyyyyyyyyy is my frieeeeeennndd!"

"I'll let you go play with him if you promise me one thing. Promise me you'll never, ever kiss another boy for the rest of your life. Especially Iggy Dragneel. No matter how old you get."

"K."

Laxus asked, "Unless you want to stay here with me."

"Iggy."

"Rub salt in the wound. It's okay. I'll survive."

He opened the door and Layla happily toddled back to her little friend and sat down.

Layla turned and smiled at him really big. "Wuvuuu Daddy!"

He grinned at her and shut the door, then mumbled under his breath, "...traitor."

There were three stacks of paper on his desk:

The first stack were expense reports generated by everyone in the guild except Natsu. The second stack was all Natsu. The third stack was damage complaints from the Council, so he swept that stack off into the trash and started to work.

When it got dark, Natsu came in. "Hey, I'm headed home. You want me to drop your kid off at home on the way?"

Laxus looked up and asked, "Natsu, did you really blow up an oil dispensary?"

"Yes."

"Could you...not? Maybe, in the future?"

Natsu shrugged. "I don't try to destroy stuff. It just kind of happens."

The elder shook his head and stood, stretching sore muscles. "I might as well head home too."

"How's Gramps?"

"Doing well. Yuri was entertaining him when I left."

The two men claimed sleeping babies from the blanket and headed out the door, walking along the street together.

Natsu said, "I'm really glad Iggy's going to have friends. He loves to be around your kids. Layla seems like his favorite person. Isn't that something?"

"It's fantastic," Laxus answered in a sarcastic tone.

The Redfox baby was, like Yuri, an intentional baby. Iggy Dragneel was, like Layla, an oops baby.

But Natsu was naturally an excellent father and he and Lisanna had done well to settle down together and get ready for their baby. They were doing well for themselves, and Laxus had no problems with his family other than the fact his daughter seemed a bit sweet on his son.

They came to a crossroads and parted ways, and Laxus headed home to find Makarov causing trouble.

When he went in the kitchen, Makarov was cowering under the table while Chelia glared down at him with murderous eyes.

"Gramps, what did you do?"

Yuri excitedly answered, "Gams pinched Chewy on her butts! She gonna get him!"

Chelia had a frying pan in one hard and everyone in the room knew she was going to hit Makarov with it, including Makarov.

Laxus brought a palm to his face.

Chelia asked, "Is he senile?"

"Honestly? No, he's always been like that," Laxus replied.

"You got a problem with me bashing him upside the head?"

The dragon slayers shook his head. "His chest is covered in stitches, so that's probably the best place."

Chelia was not a normal nanny at all. She was excellent with the kids and could make nutritious snacks and educational lessons and she had a background in the medical field, but she was a force to be reckoned with. If she hadn't lost her magic, Laxus was sure she probably would have turned out to be a very powerful villain and attempted to take over the world.

Lucy came downstairs when she heard the contact and frowned when she saw Makarov curled up cradling his head while Chelia started cooking a heart-healthy dinner for him. "What just happened?"

Laxus said, "Just Gramps sexually harassing our underaged nanny. She practically bashed his brains out but she's cooking something good for his heart."

Yuri announced, "Gams pinched Chewy's butts!"

Chelia glared at him. "Yuri."

The boy became silent immediately, because Chelia's hand gripped the frying pan in a certain kind of way. He made a zipper motion over his mouth and smiled innocently.

Makarov eventually got up and after a nice family dinner, they went through the routine of baths, story time, and tucking babies in, Laxus and Lucy snuggled up in bed.

Laxus felt compelled to tell his wife the traumatic story of their daughter kissing a baby, but Lucy rolled her eyes and was snoring by the time he finished.

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **AN: Thank you so much for being with me now for thirty chapters. OMG. Like 30! I'm so happy and I love all of you. I was looking back on the earlier chapters and I realized there are some of you that have been with me since chapter 1 and are still reading. That touches my little heart.**_

 _Special thanks to Guest, MWolfe13, yumeyumi1986, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, rere97maui, kurahieiritr JIO, boyceashlee, thornado, undertheskys, savygirl515, adabs18, katiekat2001, biggerthunderbab, lakeya2700, andy24amk, megumiyoung, arouraleona, sassykitten1701, mewhee89, tomoe dragneel, lovelylovelylove, xxshyxx, thealicehuntt, and westerngoddess for reviewing!_


	31. The Partners in Love

Lucy felt like it was the end of life as a wizard, but then she realized that was really a ridiculous thing to think. After all, Makarov became master of Fairy Tail when he was about Laxus' age and rose to power as a saint wizard _after_ he'd stopped going on regular jobs. When she asked him about that, he told her his growth during leadership had come from studying hard, training hard, and helping others learn.

In other words, she hadn't given up her path forward, only changed the direction it would take.

Makarov's final vision for Fairy Tail and his parting wishes as guildmaster were for her and Laxus to look after the guild - after his 'children.' So while he finally had a chance to enjoy the finer things in life, such as keeping his nap schedule synchronized with that of his great grandchildren, Lucy and Laxus embarked on this brave new world.

A guild was like a family, and up to that point in their lives, they'd been able to enjoy being children of the guild. They went on jobs and relied on the support, guidance, and protection of their guildmaster. But now they as guild children had grown up, and it was their turn to look after the younger ones.

It was a new era in their family, in their relationship, in their careers...everything.

When they were going on jobs, never one time did Laxus and Lucy go on a job together. Everyone knew it was a bad idea that would likely end with Laxus losing his temper and carrying her off on his shoulder like a dragon caveman. But in their new roles, she was perfect at his side.

Laxus had a second desk brought into the office and they tackled the paperwork, the organization, the accounting...as it turned out, Makarov had been behind for a long time and didn't have the best system to start with. It was a mess and getting the finances in order was necessary before they could really do anything else.

Lucy used Wind Reader glasses to learn literally everything there was to know about the legalities of running a guild, guild accounting, tax code, and so forth and they sat in the office for hours upon hours and revamped their entire bookkeeping system. She learned the simple but amazing Ledger magic, a strange magical cousin to Archive, and went to work.

He discovered he didn't even have a clue just how amazingly intelligent she'd been all along.

One afternoon, he was settling up a series of fines the guild had received from the Magic Council when Lucy pulled up all the records for their previous fees and fines. "Don't pay that," she said.

"Why?"

"We've paid over twenty million jewel in fees and fines over the past fifteen years. Natsu was asleep for seven of those, so you know that's ridiculous."

"Lucy, this guild is synonymous with destruction."

Lucy answered, "It's absurd. Let me handle this."

He watched her type furiously for the better part of four hours on a roll of paper that coiled up on the floor.

When she finished, she handed him the coiled up scroll, which was an invoice with over seven hundred items.

"What...is...this…"

Lucy said, "This is an itemized list of every single thing Fairy Tail has had to do because of the Council. Lullaby, Jellal, that whole Balam Alliance thing should have been their job and we're probably entitled to a fee for handling it. Ignoring that, they owe us reimbursement for property damage, refunded fines, and all the bounties."

The invoice included billing rates by the hour and interest, clinic visits with Porlyusica, bandages, and food costs.

At the bottom of the list, Lucy took the petty little fines and subtracted them from the total. She mailed the 882,213,998 jewel invoice to the Magic Council, the Tax Assessor's Office, and the Royal Treasury.

"I better not get arrested over this."

"Relax, I'm a legal expert as of last Tuesday."

He decided to let her flex her little mental muscles and that same day, he reclined in his chair and said, "If you weren't a wizard, I think you would have been a great attorney or wonderfully scheming politician. Maybe a con artist. I think you would have been a spectacular crook."

Lucy smiled at him. "You're kind of a sucker for blondes, so I know I'd get all your money."

"You're so cute I wouldn't even mind."

These hours they spent together each day were wonderful for them. Even if they had a lot of work, it had been years since they were just by themselves often and for longer periods of time. They loved their little family, but little kids despised nothing more than their parents enjoying a nice afternoon without them.

They flirted constantly, and Laxus made a thousand and one naughty secretary jokes.

There were moments where she would look at him and realize she loved that blond-headed rascal of a man to death. He always respect and delighted in her intellect, and he gave her freedom to be her. Laxus never would have asked Lucy to stop going on jobs, but now that she saw the task before them, she knew it was for the better.

Laxus sometimes just watched her little mind go, and realized their son's hilariously scatterbrained but sharp brain came straight from his mother.

"...why do we even have an electricity bill, Laxus?" she randomly asked an hour or so later.

"What do you mean?" he asked in confusion.

Lucy said, "Let me not state the obvious here, Captain Sparky. I just assume that the brilliant mind behind the Thunder Palace should be able to think his way around the utility bills. That goes for our house too. Our power bill is absurd."

"It wouldn't be that bad if our kid would stop eating out of the electrical sockets."

They thought of their adorable toddler and his crazy, bizarre, and weirdly expensive habit. Lucy sighed and said, "I think we're the only parents anywhere in the world who have that problem."

"We made some interesting kids."

"But anyway, about the bill…"

Laxus gave her an unamused glare. "I'll figure something out if you come sit in my lap."

Always one for results and a little workday romance, Lucy stood from her desk and walked around to his, where she plopped down on his lap and straddled him. He leaned back in his chair as it creaked, blindly reaching onto the desk for a ruler, which he used to swat her backside.

Lucy bit his bottom lip and he dropped the ruler and leaned a little further back, which caused the chair to tip and sent both of them crashing to the floor.

This was just fine, and he pulled her into a kiss while she tried to put herself back in order.

"Laxus, stop it. We have too much work."

"It's a scientific fact that when I have an erection blood leaves my brain. So if you want me to think, you know what you have to do," he teased.

"It's a scientific fact that if I pour ice water in your lap, it will shrink up like this," she made a gesture with a curling finger. "Wah," she whined, offering a sound effect for this.

Laxus glared at her and stood. "I will fire you."

"I'll quit."

He grabbed her hips, she reached between his legs and squeezed just a little and they were at it. Stacks of papers and pens went flying, as he pinned her on the desk and hiked her skirt up, planting fevered, frantic kisses down her neck.

Work was the perfect place to have sex, and when they were done, Lucy took her little pack of baby wipes to the office's private bathroom, freshened up, fixed her hair, and returned to her desk. "Mr. Dreyar, can I have my panties, please?"

"Mrs. Dreyar, no. You don't need them. You can come bend over in front of me and pick up these papers."

"Ugh, I'm not doing this again," she groaned.

Laxus shrugged and rested his head on his hand. "You say that every day."

The two worked diligently, day after day after day, dividing their time between the administration and the socialization of guild leadership. Laxus found her to be a true partner in all things, and now that she was around the guild more often, she helped him look after the guild's large population of teenagers.

They made a perfect team and he was very happy she was a part of his future as guildmaster.

One of her favorite parts of the day was walking home with him, usually hand-in-hand.

Lucy had to admit that it was nice that the whole family was together at night more or less every day. Their family life up to that point had been a rotation of parents taking turns working and staying at home with scattered days they were together in between.

One afternoon, they got about a block away from the house and froze dead in their tracks.

"What the…" Lucy mumbled.

Makarov, had used Titan magic on their son. And, if anyone would have asked, a twenty foot three-year-old was a terrifying sight to behold.

Laxus gave this a sour expression. "Well, I have something new to have nightmares about."

"Tell me about it."

Yuri was just standing there in the yard, enjoying being an enormous, creepy toddler.

Lucy was a little horrified and Laxus was quite a little less than amused as they entered the gate and found themselves looking up at Yuri. Makarov was sitting under a tree laughing at Laxus with Layla who was thankfully normal-sized at the moment.

"I'm BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG!" Yuri said in a creepy voice that was altered by larger vocal chords.

Laxus said, "Gramps, cut this shit out."

Yuri leaned down and said, "That's a bad word, Daddy!"

His hands descended toward his father, and Laxus looked up and said, "Son, whatever you're thinking about doing, you better not."

Lucy took a step back and realized the Dreyar family was just really, really weird. They were a lovable but unquestionably bizarre collection of people.

Laxus and Makarov had an argument about whether or not it was acceptable for the family patriarch to use his Titan magic to make their children huge, and Makarov pointed out that they simply enjoyed it and they had been 'playing giants' every time their parents went to work.

"Tell me this, Gramps. What happens if he figures out how to do that on his own?" Laxus asked.

Makarov laughed again and with a wave of his hand, Yuri went _poof_ and returned to toddler size. "I'd love to see the day. Besides, it's an old man's pleasure to teach his great grandchildren."

Lucy's eyebrow twitched. "Okay, Gramps, I was just going to let you guys handle this, but if you want to teach the kids something, there's numbers, letters, animal sounds, new words, fine motor skills, colors - for Layla, you know, things every kid needs to learn. How to turn into a giant using magic is not something Yuri needs to know now, and maybe ever."

"Don't be such boring parents. What kid doesn't like to pretend they're huge?"

"Pretend. Actually making them huge is very creepy, Gramps," Lucy chided as she swept her toddler off the ground.

Yuri said, "I like playing giants!"

They would figure out later that Makarov and Yuri 'playing giants' was responsible for part of their fence being mysteriously crushed, a large tree branch that inexplicably snapped off in the yard, and the destruction of the lawn in place where it looked like a demon had trampled in the grass. They'd been doing it for weeks when Chelia was at class and the parents were gone and keeping it a secret.

This was suspicious behavior for someone who was supposedly too sick to take care of himself. Laxus pondered at times if Makarov had accepted retirement because he just wanted to retire and not because of his health. Or, maybe he let go of the guildmaster mantle so easily because he didn't want to catch up on that disaster of scribbled-on napkins he called 'accounting.'

They had a nice family dinner together, and discussed topics ranging from 'why babies shouldn't be giants' to 'why babies shouldn't be giants.' Makarov had evidently also used the magic on Layla, but she didn't have the motor skills to handle a larger body and preferred to remain her own size.

After they finished eating, they family ended up in the living room, where Lucy sulked a little at the idea that rather than snuggle with her mother, her daughter wanted to run everywhere and play tag with her brother and the tiger.

"Aren't you Mama's baby?" she asked.

Layla looked up, smiled, and answered, "No! Imma tiger! Rawrrrr!"

Lucy leaned against her husband as they sat on the couch. "I'm really happy they're growing up so well, but I kind of miss them being younger. We're almost done with diapers."

"Good riddance," he answered.

Makarov went to bed, having spent his limited energy playing with the kids all day, and the couple relaxed and enjoyed watching their little ones play.

Laxus poured a little tumbler of whiskey after a little while and offered one to Lucy as well. "Cheers, to life without diapers or waking up in the middle of the night to crying babies.

Their glasses clinked, and Lucy crinkled her nose at the sting. She'd never been a big drinker, but once in a blue moon, she'd indulge with her husband. One of her fondest memories was getting a little tipsy off champagne on their first date and dancing for hours on a night that ended in their first kiss and set their lives in motion.

Layla eventually did climb back on the couch when she got tired. She was the type that would run until the last bit of energy was gone, and then become lethargic to the point she usually had to be carried to bath and bed.

"Mama, look," she tiredly sighed, cupping her hands together.

They saw light peek out from between her fingers, and she unfolded her hands to reveal a little ball of magic light. Layla blew on the little ball of light and it floated up and faded away.

This was the first time they'd ever seen her demonstrate any kind of magical tendency.

Lucy watched in awe, "Baby, did Gams teach you?"

"Mhmm! Is pretty, Mama!"

And, in that moment, they wondered why they hadn't considered this the inevitable result of having Makarov in the house. While they were at work, he was at home teaching them how to use magic. Laxus and Lucy were neither excited nor equipped to deal with their children being any more magical than they already were.

Yuri's magic had been evident from birth, but judging from what they'd just witnessed, both their kids had inherited a strong proclivity toward the use and understanding of magic.

After they got the kids bathed and in bed, they headed to their bedroom to discuss, Makarov, babies, and the business of magic.

Laxus said, "Lucy, do you have any idea what just happened?"

"Your grandfather taught our kid to use a magic spell?"

He shook his head. "So, among elementalists, every person has an element they're inclined towards. Every powerful elementalist is powerful because they're using their element. Some elements are more common than others. That's why you see tons of fire and ice wizards. The light element is so rare that Gramps is believed to be the only one of his kind."

"So she inherited the ability to use light magic?"

"More or less. It's extremely powerful magic and is probably as natural to her as lightning is to Yuri. She just needed to see it and feel it to know. Gramps' magic is crazy powerful, I'd rank it's base potential above mine any day of the week. Layla has the potential to be an extremely powerful wizard, especially if she starts learning when she's young," he said, throwing his shirt off

Laxus paused, "Do we even want them to learn magic?"

"How did we not have this conversation yet?"

"Because our children are toddlers, and we know Yuri is going to have to learn. And the other one we assumed would just be a normal for a little while at least," he answered as she followed him to the bathroom and started to strip.

They took a decidedly unsexy shower together, more focused on their conversation than the business of getting clean. They discussed the pros and cons, the main issues being that their children learning magic would inevitably make them destructive and more difficult.

"I grew up with magic. As you can see, Gramps doesn't regard age in any kind of way. Not his age, and not their ages. Yuri has to learn how to control his magic or we're going to have problems. And I think it would good for Layla to learn too. I think it would help her not be so shy," he said as they were drying off.

Lucy listened, but she knew Laxus had a laundry list of ulterior motives that bordered on paranoia where their daughter was concerned. "Is this your tactic to get her to lose interest in dolls? Why this time?"

"Dolls are literally fake babies. I'm sure if some study was done, there would a correlation between dolls and having babies," he said.

His wife shook her head. "Laxus, I just looked in my crystal ball and saw that because you bought a daughter a doll she wanted, she's going to run off with a bandit from a dark guild and get pregnant when she's fifteen."

"See?"

"You hate dolls because you feel like they marginalize the role of girls in society, which is honestly kind of a deep thought for someone like you, but really, lighten up, will you?" she asked.

"Someone like me."

"Yes."

Laxus pulled his boxers on and climbed into bed. "Are you calling me stupid?"

Lucy grinned, "Of course not, baby. I just feel like it's a strange opinion for a man who enjoys the sight of a woman barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. You would keep me pregnant if I let you."

"You're talking about the difference between relationships. Wife and daughter? That's not comparable."

"Why?"

" _They're different_."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You're so weird."

"Speaking of pregnant, can we-"

"NO."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek when she got into bed with him. "Anyway, let's let Gramps teach them. Except Titan magic. Yuri needs to stay Yuri-sized. The world is not ready for him to be any bigger than he is. But honestly, I want to teach my magic to one of our kids. Can you and your stupid Dreyar genes stop hogging all the babies?"

He started to speak, and she quickly cut him off. "We are not having a conversation about how amazing your semen is. Thank you. And I need you to take the morning tomorrow off and take your son to get new shoes. He's growing out of his sneakers and I need to close out last year's expense account so the tax office doesn't audit Fairy Tail."

"Already? I feel like I am forever buying him shoes. He must get his enormous, gross feet from his mother."

Lucy looked down to where his monstrous feet were sticking up under the covers. "From me? Really? Your feet are so big stores never have your size. And, they're hairy, and your toenails are thick like little claws. I actually think you could grow them into talons."

"That's a great idea. I'll stop wearing shoes and just be barefooted with talons. We'll stop buying food at the market and I'll swoop over the East Forest every day and pick up large prey with my talons and bring my victim home for you to butcher and cook," he said.

Lucy hit him with a pillow, and he returned the aggression in kind, then escalated it to a tickling match she lost miserably. She was curled up, giggling, and out of breath when she felt his lips brush against hers so gently. She deepened the kiss, and he postured himself above her, propping himself up on one arm while his free hand reached for her panties.

The door creaked open, and they rolled onto their backs as if nothing happened and found not one, but both of their children standing in the doorway.

For a minute or so, the parents stared at their children, and their children stared back.

"Do you guys want something?" Lucy asked.

Yuri said, "Were you having fun without me?"

His mother burst out laughing because now that Yuri slept in the room right next to theirs, he'd heard their little tickle fight and seemed genuinely bothered that his parents dared to have fun without him. "Dad and me can have fun by ourselves if we want to," she said.

"But…"

Layla climbed onto the bed and nestled in between them, and Yuri climbed onto the bed and stood upright, walking around until he flopped down on his father's lap, which was no comfortable for Laxus at all.

Layla snuggled Lucy. "Mama, I wanna story."

Lucy knew she had to act before her husband waffled and let them stay because they'd gotten really good at falling asleep cute so they could stay in the bed. Sleeping with toddlers was peculiar experience. Hands in weird places, elbows in the back, and feet in the neck...sometimes Yuri woke up facing the opposite direction, upside down, cocooned in all the blankets.

"Well," Laxus started.

"Nope! Bedtime! Right now!"

After a small battle, she returned to the bedroom, locked the door, and found him sound asleep.

The next morning, per Lucy's instruction, Laxus took his son to a children's department store to buy what felt like his ten thousandth pair of shoes. Yuri had been hard on shoes since the day he took his first step and it wasn't getting better. He wore them out, scratched them up, and flat outgrew them in amazing time. The sight of him with a scab on at least one knee and worn out shoes was fairly standard.

Laxus held him up so he could see, because he'd reached the point in his life where he wanted to have and express opinions about everything. They tried on one pair, but they didn't have the right size, and another pair he just didn't like, one pair was uncomfortable, and Laxus was starting to get a bit cranky with the process when he felt his son grab his legs and duck behind them, peeking around.

There was only one thing Yuri was afraid of and Laxus knew if he was hiding it was because there was a little girl in proximity to them.

Laxus looked down at him. "Honestly, Son…it's just a girl."

"She's weird."

"Do you know her?"

"No."

"Then how do you know she's weird."

"Cause she's a girl."

"Your mom is a girl. Layla is a girl."

" _That's diff'rent._ "

Laxus accepted this, because his son was acknowledging the difference between a mom or a sister and everyone else and he himself had just tried to use that same logic on Lucy, using the same words, eerily enough.

"You're just like me, you know."

"Cause I'm your son, right?"

"Right. Now let's find some shoes, okay?" he asked.

And as they left the store with three pairs of new shoes after creeping around a raven-haired girl, Yuri insisted on carrying the bag and dragged it along beside him as he held his father's hand.

"Daddy."

"What is it?"

"I'm glad you're my dad."

Laxus smiled at him. "I'm glad you're my son."

They passed a hot dog stand and he said, "I'm glad hot dogs are real too."

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah!"

"So...you want a hot dog?"

"I dunno."

They got hot dogs and sat on a bench in the park together with a stack of napkins and a couple of glass bottles of soda pop. His son asked a thousand questions as they ate, and then Laxus took him home, and left a note for his grandfather who was taking a nap.

-Don't bother the nanny  
-Don't turn the babies into giants  
-Don't get drunk

Just another day in the life, right?

 _ **Please Review!**_

Special thanks to Silverghostkitsune, xxShyxx, megumiyoung, kurahieiritr JIO, killer-kelly420, mewhee89, yumeyumi1986, lady allyssa, flipperzz, Paname, mwolfe13, otaku4ever731, thornado, lunastarlady, wallace11, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, guest, sassykitten170, boyceashlee, tomoedragneel, katieboom, arouraleona, andy24amk, and thealicehuntt for reviewing!


	32. The Rug Returns

The next months were actually really the happiest anyone in the family ever had. The career change meant they all got to spend more time together, and even though Laxus and Lucy worked long hours sometimes, the babies were always with someone who loved them-Makarov, Chelia, and occasionally uncle Natsu or Gajeel. The babies played together often, and had formed some kind of clique of children, of which Yuri was king as the oldest.

Sam Redfox and Iggy Dragneel were frequent visitors to their house because Makarov and Chelia were running a babysitting racket under the table and felt like Laxus and Lucy didn't know (they did - they also knew about the sports betting operation they were running when they took the kids to the park to play).

Makarov and Chelia were unlikely best friends, but they were both mischievous schemers and had become business partners in an assortment of 'business ventures.' Laxus and Lucy chose to let them continue their assorted mischief without addressing it because Makarov needed things to do during the day and Chelia was trying to avoid racking up student debt.

The guild started to flourish under its new leadership, although their relations with the Council continued to sour because Lucy played the part of barracuda with her typewriter.

Christmastime rolled around and as a family with two young children, Christmas was pretty much the biggest thing that happened all year. They took them to Crocus the weekend right before Christmas and showed them all the city lights after Lucy had a meeting with the treasury minister about Fairy Tail's 'settlement.'

At home, they had a huge pine tree that left their house 'stinking like the woods' as Laxus put it. The kids helped them hang (and break) many ornaments and it was very lively and lovely. Wrapped gifts surrounded the tree although they'd passed up the Santa Claus lore for a plethora of reasons.

Lucy's Christmas gift for her husband had taken months of preparation, careful timing, and sneaking around behind his back, but she was quite satisfied and eager for him to open the box as it sat beneath the tree with shiny red and green paper.

Now, this was the first Christmas that Yuri was really truly aware of what Christmas meant, so at 5:23 am, they awoke to the door being thrown open so hard it slammed against the wall. Laxus and Lucy barely had time to acquaint themselves with consciousness when he leapt onto the bed.

"IT'S CHRISTMAS!"

Laxus opened his eyes, looked over at the clock, and said, "Any chance I can convince you to go back to sleep?"

Yuri jumped on the bed and Lucy sat up to find their daughter standing in the door, dragging a stuffed bunny toy by the ears in a half-asleep daze.

"Mamaaaaaaaaaa…" she groggily whined, climbing onto the bed so she could flop down between them and snuggle her bunny.

Laxus looked down at her. "Are you ready to open presents?"

"Noooo!"

She curled up and closed her eyes. Layla would say 'no' to any question she was asked when half asleep, no matter what it was.

He tried to tickle her and she swatted his hand away. "Stop it! Go away!"

Laxus considered this an act of war and set to tickling her until she was kicking her feet in the air and screaming. "So you think you can wake me up, get in my bed, and then tell me to go away? Surely you take after your mother."

"Nooooo!"

"Her terrible twos are about to be upon us," Lucy said.

He nodded.

They all knew Yuri wasn't going to go back to sleep, so they brought their kids downstairs, allowing the noise they made to awaken the rest of the family. Makarov came down in his robe, and Chelia came down dressed with her camera.

Their children would probably have been considered 'spoiled' by most, but neither one of them was particularly fixated on things. Yuri and Layla liked each other, and to run and play and be with others. Having a close sibling instilled in them a love and consideration that made their parents proud, and they watched while their son stopped to help their daughter open her gifts too.

Once they'd unwrapped their gifts, they sat amongst the mess of ripped paper with their new toys and played excitedly

"We have good kids," Lucy said, snuggling against him as they watched from the couch.

A loud noise suddenly caused them both to jump and reflexes tuned to war and battle rose in both. Lucy reached for her keys which were currently on her nightstand in the bedroom as she was still wearing pajamas, and Laxus prepared to fry whoever was responsible. It was just Yuri, holding cap guns in each of his hands while he flew through the living room shooting.

Makarov almost passed out from laughing.

The nanny and both parents glared angrily.

There was no doubt as to who gave the boy such a noisy disaster of a gift. The gifts Makarov gave the kids tended to fall into one of a few categories: things that make noise, things that get stuck in the carpet or in their hair, things that stain, 'things that hurt like fuck when you step on them at 3 am trying to go downstairs for a snack,' and Lucy's personal unfavorite, 'things with wheels that make you fall and wonder if you broke your ass bone.'

Layla was meanwhile playing with a ball of play-dough when she decided to taste it. Her mother watched as her picky child who would not eat most of the food that was cooked for her try to eat a mouthful of the salty, neon-pink substance whilst her brother ran around the house like a maniac.

Yuri ran to Raijin's bed, where the tiger was lounging on her side, attempting to ignore the rustling of paper. The boy took aim and fired the cap guns at Raijin, exclaiming, "I got you!"

The tiger sat up, stared at Yuri, and then put her huge paw and pushed him down onto the floor. The tiger looked up at Laxus as if to say, 'Could you do something about your kid?'

"Yuri, leave Raijin alone. Tigers eat kids," Laxus warned.

"Ooof! You don't wanna play? That's okay. Sorry, sorry, let's be friends. You want some cereals?" he sweetly uttered from the carpet.

Raijin had never eaten one of the thousands of Cheerios Yuri had given her, yet the boy continued to put little piles of them wherever she slept.

Layla saw her brother turn and squealed, "Don't!"

Yuri pointed his little cap guns at his sister and she gave him a glare that was second in terror only to her mother's. "Okay, okay, I stop."

Makarov and Chelia and the parents had gifts too, and Lucy excitedly tore open a gift from her husband to find an ancient book on celestial spirit summoning magic.

Then Lucy brought her husband his gift as he sat on the couch and snuggled up to him. "I hope you like it."

Laxus was impossible to shop for because he really acted like he didn't want anything most of the time. He wasn't hung up on 'things,' and for the past few years of his life, had been content in his role as a husband and father. He didn't really collect anything and didn't have many pastimes between magic and babies.

Lucy watched as he tore the paper neatly along one seam, giving her a little grin. Everyone else was completely occupied with the children in their world of torn paper and toys and noise, so as they sat on the couch, no one was really paying them any attention.

There was a plain white box and when he opened it, there was a page torn out of the day-by-day calendar that sat on his desk at work. On the page she had written the words, 'Dreyar Twins Due,' with a little heart.

Laxus stared into the box for a long time, as if it was difficult for him to think that hard. Then he finally looked up with a peculiar expression of shock. "Lucy, are you pregnant?"

She nodded.

"With twins?"

Lucy laughed a little nervously. "So, you kind of won me over on the big family thing, I guess. And I knew you wanted another baby and I wanted to surprise you, so I went off birth control. I guess it was buy one get one free day in my ovaries. So, I hope you're serious about wanting a big family, because we're about to have four kids under the age of five at the same time."

Laxus abruptly pulled her across his lap and squeezed her tightly, a huge, excited smile on his face. "Wow...you are...I…"

He gave her a big kiss and she giggled. "I love you, Laxus."

"I love you too. How far along?"

"Eleven weeks."

His brows rose. "How long have you known you were pregnant?"

"Three weeks."

"You've been well so far?"

"Perfect. I read in a book twin pregnancies are supposed to be more difficult, but I've felt great."

Lucy didn't know if this was going to be an 'easy' pregnancy or if her body was just used to being knocked up, but she hadn't had any nausea or terrible symptoms so far. She knew when she missed her period he'd be suspicious at the first sign of vomit, but she'd somehow made it through almost the entire first trimester without the first trimester kind of 'feeling pregnant,' even with twins.

She decided not to question it since she'd been a serial puker during her first two pregnancies.

One thing that was different was that she'd had ravenous hunger on par with a dragon slayer's and had eaten probably more in the past month than in the three months before that put together, and in attempts to hide her pregnancy, she did most of her 'excess' eating in secret.

Laxus leaned in to smell her, and detected the just slight change in scent she had while pregnant. It was so subtle he had to know to look for it to pick up on it.

He was so stupidly happy he didn't even know what to do so he just held her.

He had a few fleeting thoughts about how difficult it was going to be to handle two newborns, a toddler, and...he wasn't sure what the designation for Yuri was. He had graduated from toddlerhood, and could hold a conversation, recite the alphabet, and was starting to develop something that resembled reason. He seemed to be growing out of the mischief of toddlerhood that caused him to test boundaries and was settling into the role of a very nice little boy. He was very helpful, and he loved his family. It was a good age.

Layla was somewhat outgrowing her more dramatic temper tantrums and was become slightly more social, although they were making sure the kids interacted with other kids often since one was terrified of girls and the other was just very shy and quiet. Under her shyness, she had a weird wild streak that seemed to come as she began light explorations of magic.

Their precious daughter made their way to her parents and climbed on the couch and attempted to hug both of her parents at the same time. "Mewwy Kisskiss!"

Lucy and Laxus each bent down to kiss-kiss her, and she attempted to climb onto her mother's lap as she was sitting on her dad.

Yuri looked up and unaware of the sweetness of this moment they were having, yelled, "Dog pile!" and slammed into them with surprising might, sending the whole operation tumbling over.

"Son!" Lucy said.

"We should squish Daddy," Yuri said.

"Stop it!" Layla exclaimed.

Laxus groaned because some hand or foot or elbow or knee had hit him in between the legs and while he huffed in recovery the women gave Yuri bad looks and righted themselves.

Layla exclaimed, "Stop being a boy!"

He was quite proud of himself, until a shock coursed through this body and made him twitch. "Owwww! What's that for?"

Laxus said, "Don't ever play rough with girls. Not your sister, or your mom, or other ones either. You understand?"

Yuri nodded.

"Apologize."

"I'm sorry, Mommy. I'm sorry, Layla," he begrudgingly uttered.

His sister said, "'S'okay. You can be a boy with Daddy."

She had learned this phrase 'be a boy' from her mother, and it was the blanket descriptive for all his very normal but very little boyish behavior.

One of the few traditions Laxus and Makarov had when Laxus was growing up was that every year, Makarov would make him pancakes on Christmas, and Laxus had felt so fond of this that he continued it with his kids. Now that his grandfather lived with them, the two men went to the kitchen to make breakfast and this felt right and good with both of them.

"This takes me back," Makarov said as he collected ingredients for a big breakfast from the refrigerator.

Laxus nodded as he found a bowl to mix the pancakes in.

"You have a real stupid look on your face, Grandson."

He smiled. "Lucy's pregnant, Gramps."

"Again?" he chuckled and smiled back.

Laxus added, "...with twins. No one in this house is getting any sleep come June."

"Twins? Really? How did that happen?"

He shrugged. "Apparently without my consent during the month of October. I've been wanting another baby for a while, and I think Lucy started feeling that way when Layla started to get her little independent streak. There's nothing my wife loves more than a chubby little baby face."

"If she likes a chubby face, she's got you," Makarov pinched a now-perceptible amount of fat on his once-perfect abdomen.

Laxus rolled his eyes. He'd recently noticed that some combination of office work, babies, and being married had led to a noticeable amount of fat on his body. He had the same amount of muscle, but it was just not quite as pronounced. He wasn't sure if he cared about it yet or not.

Makarov cracked some eggs into a bowl and asked, "Your wife is in fantastic shape. I'd never guess she was a mom of two kids. I'd think you carried the kids at this point."

His grandson answered, "I have a hard time taking criticism about my body from a grown man who is shorter than my three-year-old son."

"To be fair, he is a huge child. You were such a scrawny little mutt."

Laxus found it was nice to talk to people other than his wife at times. And other times, he missed when he and Lucy were living by themselves. It suddenly occurred to him that twins would make eight people in a four bedroom house. "Shit, I need to find a new house."

Makarov suggested, "There's a big lot for sale by the guild."

"Great, Gramps, so when the guild gets destroyed every three and a half years, I can be homeless too. There's a good reason no one builds anything on the same block as the guild. The idea of finding a patch of dirt somewhere and building a house is nice. Lucy would like that kind of thing. She's particular. She gives a shit whether the carpet is cream or ecru."

"What's ecru? Some kind of animal?"

"It's evidently another word for 'off-white.' It's a woman thing, I think. Like 'cerulean' and 'magenta.' And 'chartreuse.'"

"That last one sounds like a stripper's name."

"It's piss yellow," Laxus said.

Makarov had never been married so it was interesting to live with a married couple. His grandson had slowly over the years softened in a lot of ways, and become stronger in others. He was patient, and he enjoyed presiding over the chaos of young children which made him quite qualified for guild master.

Breakfast was marked by excited squeals and thank yous, then came stockings full of candy and trinkets.

They watched the kids play throughout the day and when it was time for them to go to bed, the kids piled into Yuri's bed for their bedtime story.

When Lucy finished reading the story of the little red dragon for what felt like the thousandth time, Laxus came and leaned against the doorway with a contented smile.

"You ready to tell them?" he asked.

She nodded.

Lucy said, "Layla, you remember how I told you that you used to be in my tummy?"

She nodded.

"Yuri, you remember before she was born, right?"

"Your belly was so big!" he exclaimed.

Lucy ruffled his hair. "Well, our family is going to grow again just like that."

Yuri looked down. "You gots a person in you again?"

"Yes, son," she laughed, "Well, this time, I have two babies inside of me."

Layla snuggled close. "Babies?"

Yuri had communicated on several occasions that he enjoyed his status as the only son, so he seemed a little suspicious. "Two babies…"

Laxus said, "They could both be boys. A little brother would be good for you. Two would be better."

"No," he simply answered.

Layla seemed to have more trouble with the idea that there would be more children in the family.

Lucy went to their bedroom for a photo album, and showed Layla pictures of her while pregnant and then with her when she was a newborn. The girl warmed up gradually to the idea of her mother being pregnant and Yuri was happy about it as long as neither of the babies were boys.

Layla held out her doll. "You gonna have a real baby?"

"Two of them."

"Can I play with your babies?"

Lucy nodded. "Of course. They'll be your brothers and sisters and you can be a good big sister, okay?"

"When?"

"The babies will have to grow and then they'll be born in the summer."

Yuri thought long and hard about all this and then said, "Mama, ask Gams to make the babies huge so they can come out now!"

"That's not how it works, son," Laxus said.

Once the kids were in bed, they headed to their room and Lucy snuggled up to her dragon, who put a hand on her still flat belly, amazed it was still flat as she'd had a little bump by that time in her second pregnancy.

"I bet you're going to get enormous."

"Ugh, not looking forward to that. Sometimes you see a lady with twins and she's so big you think, 'God, what happened to her.' And now it has happened to me," she answered,

Laxus lectured her about making sure she got enough food and sleep, but this was their third time around and everyone knew what was going down. He was sure their twins found the womb well broken-in and cozy from prior occupants.

Lucy said, "I have this weird feeling this is the last time I'm going to be pregnant."

"Four is a good number, I think."

"So, we have a son and daughter already. What's your preference?"

Laxus considered this for a minute. "It might be easier if they're the same sex because raising a boy and raising a girl are two completely different things. Then again, if we have a boy and a girl, we'll have two and two. I feel like two boys would be kind of a handful. Two girls would tip the estrogen scales a bit much. There would be two of us and three of you."

Lucy pinched his cheek. "I think it would be super cute to see you raising a bunch of little girls. I'm with you on the twin boys thing. Two like Yuri at the same time? Yikes."

"You want to build a house?"

"Really?"

Her husband nodded. "We don't really have a place to put two babies right now. I know a stone-make wizard who will make it out of stone, like a little fortress. Should cut down on construction time also. It's kind of cramped here and I want to be able to have loud sex with you again."

"That'll be fun for us to do together, getting to pick everything out."

"Do whatever you want. I don't care. At all. I'm a wizard, I'm comfortable eating, sleeping, and shitting in the woods. Besides, the last thing I picked for this house was the tiger rug, and we all know how that went. I believe you made me give it up for the privilege of impregnating you with our son."

Lucy smiled at the memory of her victory. "What if we still had the rug, but were childless?"

"I'm almost that stubborn."

"I don't think we'd have had as much fun without kids. I think we'd still be together and whatever, and probably have gone on more vacations, spent more money on ourselves, and developed a lot of pointless suburban hobbies, but it wouldn't be the same. I can't imagine a world without our babies," she said.

XXX

The next Monday, Lucy came in to work an hour after her husband, who left her sleeping in the bed while he fed the kids and left.

There, under her desk, was _the rug_. It was even worse than she remembered as it lay there in a most obscene way with it's furry orange and black tiger print pattern. It matched nothing in the office, and honestly didn't belong anywhere, ever.

He smirked at her.

"I thought...you said...didn't we get rid of this?"

Laxus smiled even wider. "I actually rolled it up and put it in the attic. I forgot all about it until we talked about it and I thought it would make a nice addition to the office."

Lucy cringed, inwardly then outwardly. "And why is it under my desk?"

"Well, you stand when you're sorting the mail, and I thought the extra padding would be good for your back."

The blonde sat down at her desk and glared at him. "And there were no other rugs, anywhere in Fiore?"

"Excuse me for trying to help."

When Laxus had to go to a meeting at the bank, Lucy called for Natsu.

"Oy, Mrs. Master, what's up?" he teased.

Lucy said, "Look, I'll buy you lunch if you turn this rug to ash."

Natsu looked down at it. "It's kinda nice. Are you sure you want to burn it?"

"Look, Laxus said he brought it in here because I'm pregnant, but really, he's just trying to get on my nerves."

Natsu's jaw dropped a little. "You're pregnant again? Do you ever tell him no? Because, I hear 'no' a lot and then I wonder if that's normal, but every time I turn around you're pregnant."

"Telling Laxus no is like throwing a grenade at a beehive. Never really works the way I hope."

"And you usually get stuck anyway?"

Lucy's voice was dripping with sarcasm as she pretended to laugh. "So will you burn it or not? I got five hundred pages with everything you'll burn for no reason, so I know you shouldn't need much encouragement."

"Can I have it instead? I think it would look good in our living room."

She brought a palm to her face. "Is every dragon slayer male tacky and weird? Please just trust me that this is an awful, tasteless thing. Lisanna decorated your home beautifully. In shades of blue and gray. Not orange!"

After an argument, Natsu gave in.

When Laxus returned, the first thing he noticed was that the tiger rug was gone. "What did you…" He trailed off when he saw a handful of ashes in the shape of a heart on his desk.

Lucy smiled at him. "Oh, by the way, we owed Natsu lunch and I left my wallet at home, so I put on your tab. Please don't forget to settle it before we go home."

"You ruin all my fun."

"It's sad Laxus, that at this point in your life 'all your fun' consists of terrorizing your wife with a tasteless, ugly-ass rug that looks like it was woven from the pubic hair of one of Zeref's demons."

"I feel like you set me up for a good END joke here," Laxus muttered.

"You better not!"

Laxus sighed and said, "You never let me have any fun at work."

"Laxus, we conceived the twins on your desk. If that doesn't boost your workplace morale, I don't even know what to do with you at this point."

Her husband flashed a devilish grin. "I have a few ideas."

"Please don't write anything dirty on the calendar. It's embarrassing when I'm trying to show someone our upcoming events and you have pencilled in 'afternoon delight' on every day at 4 pm."

"That's the best time."

Lucy groaned. "Why do I put up with you?"

"Once you go Lax, you never go back."

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	33. The Chickenpox

A good husband makes time for his wife to rest while she's pregnant.

A great husband makes dinner, puts the kids to bed, and runs a hot bubble bath so that his pregnant wife can wake up from her nap and eat ice cream, soak in the warm water, and get the world's best backrub _at the same time_.

There was calming music in the background and scented candles produced the only light in the room, casting a wonderful glow on the bubbles.

Lucy was facing away from him, leaning on the back of the tub with a bowl of ice cream on the tile ledge that surrounded the big master bedroom and he was behind her, rubbing her back slowly and just the way she liked.

She moaned and her whole body rolled under his touch.

"Are you moaning at me or the ice cream?" he asked.

"Both…this amaaaaazing," she purred.

By this point in life after two pregnancies, Laxus was a master masseuse. He knew how to use every part of his hand to knead, rub, and loosen her neck and shoulders and back.

Laxus leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "You forgive me?"

She pressed her back into his touch. "I'm thinking about it."

In his mind, he didn't do anything wrong and was only being himself, but Lucy was so full of hormones with her twin pregnancy that she was unpredictable in this, her second trimester, like a wild animal that had been cornered. He voiced this comparison to her and things had not gone well for him. What made his blunder especially bad was the fact her back was hurting because very quickly during her second trimester, their babies had started to grow. She had all kinds of aches and pains that hadn't been present during her other pregnancies.

She reminded him who got her pregnant, he reminded her he didn't know anything about it, and it went downhill from there.

But Lucy didn't mind in the least what happened earlier in the day as long as he kept working her sore back with his amazing hands.

He kept up the massage until she felt like she was made out of rubber, at which point she leaned back onto his chest and craned her neck to look up at him.

He kissed her, and she sighed contentedly as his hands rubbed her belly slowly.

"I swear you're better than a professional masseuse."

"You want a happy ending?"

Lucy snorted. "Happy for who?"

He hand slid down between her legs. "For my queen, of course."

"You're getting better at saying you're sorry, you know."

She laid back and let him put his massage skills to work elsewhere, and then laid there under the bubbles for a bit longer once she came. "Sometimes I think back to that day I ran into you, and you asked me out, and I think about how we had no idea."

"I'd love to go back in time and tell you that in a few years, you'd be sitting in a bathtub with me getting a clit massage while you're carrying my twins."

"I'd probably Lucky Kick you in the face for saying something so absurd. I think we were the most unlikely couple."

Laxus twisted a lock of wet blonde hair around his finger. "But when I think about it, I don't think I could have settled down with anyone else. You want me to wash your hair?"

"You're so good to me."

He washed and gently towel dried her hair, and she put on a super soft 'mom nightgown' and crawled into their cushy bed with her body pillow.

"Am I a good husband again?"

"I guess. It would be kind of a pain in the ass to get rid of you and start over now that you're almost housetrained," she teased.

"Almost?"

"Almost."

At five months pregnant, her belly was already fairly big and growing amazingly fast, and Laxus could hear the babies in her womb fairly easily now - two little hummingbird heartbeats, and the swishing, stirring sounds as they moved about inside of their mother.

Laxus rested his head on her belly for a while.

"I'm getting more stretch marks," she whined.

He looked up and said, "Scars are sexy, right? Especially when they remind me of the family you've given me."

Laxus had a way of making everything in the world seem wonderful. She relied on him for that, even if she didn't have to admit it. He was the calm to her storm, and the thunder in her calm all at once. He had always taken good care of her, since the beginning of the relationship.

He relied on her for much, much more. Laxus really had no idea what he'd do without Lucy. They'd been together for years, had a family, and built a nice little life for themselves.

Lucy snuggled up to him and slept like a baby for the next ten hours, only to awaken and find he'd had the kids up, fed, teeth brushed, and dressed and was already at work.

Her daughter was sitting in the living room holding a ball of magic light in her hand. It bubbled outward, and shrank, changed colors and vibrated before fizzling out. And Yuri was nearby clapping his hands together, which produced little sparks of lightning.

Makarov was sitting on the floor with them, talking to them about magic.

"Good morning, Mama!" their daughter called, jumping up from the floor to greet her.

Yuri seemed happy to see her, but he was growing out of the phase where he'd yell in excitement the first time he saw his parents in the morning. Often, if he woke up before them, he'd entertain himself rather than going into their room immediately, although he did still have his moments.

Lucy hugged and kissed her babies and gave her grandfather-in-law a peck on the cheek. She had a busy day before her, trying to divide her time between the construction of their new home on a nice little piece of dirt they found not far from their current house, co-managing the guild with her husband, and taking care of a family.

All while five months pregnant with twins.

Easy, right?

Layla grabbed her hand. "I want to go with you today, Mama!"

As the current and reigning 'baby' of the family, she'd had a pout or two about her mother more or less taking a 'regular' job and being gone most days during 'business hours.' The babies were used to one parent being around almost constantly, so this change was mostly unwelcome. Combined with the fact that everyone seemed excited about the 'new' babies, she felt a certain kind of way.

Yuri clearly wanted to stay at home and probably play the forbidden game of giants as soon as everyone else left, since Chelia was in class.

Lucy agreed and took her precious baby girl with her for a busy day of doing 'mom' things.

Layla walked alongside her, looking like a little miniature of her mother, but with her father's eyes. She had Lucy's hand in one of hers and was using the other to clutch her favorite doll who was, amusingly enough, nothing like her at all in appearance.

Layla had what her nanny referred to as a 'multicultural' doll collection and didn't seem to have a preference for the ones that looked like their family. Her favorite doll had dark skin and hair, and she believed this one to be her 'most handsome baby.'

"Mama, what will the babies look like? Like Baby?"

"The babies will probably look like you and Yuri. With blonde hair."

"You already have those. You should have one like Baby."

Much of their walk to the builder's office was spent deep in a conversation about why Lucy wanted more babies that looked like the ones she already had. In Layla's mind, she should have wanted a collection of babies with different hair and skin, and Layla spent more than a few minutes trying to convince Lucy to have a baby that could not have come from Laxus.

Lucy couldn't wait to tell him about this conversation just to watch him cringe.

But, it made her happy on so many levels to see her daughter had not even the slightest hint of prejudice or preference in her. Their children were very open-minded because of their somewhat eccentric upbringing. The housewives in the neighborhood had _opinions_ about the lesbian nanny, the mermaid, and the tiger, and the collection of assorted strange people that made up Fairy Tail, but Lucy wouldn't have it any other way.

When they made it to the builder's office, Layla sat patiently on the table while Lucy reviewed swatches, pencilled in selections, and spoke with their contractor about the ongoing construction.

During this process, she held up two pinkish carpet swatches. "Which one? This will be the color of the floor in your room."

"No."

This led to the girl sitting on the floor with an enormous book of carpet swatches and flipping through them. Lucy really had no idea if her daughter had any idea of what she was doing, but after much deliberation, she pointed to a square.

"Thisssssssssss!"

Lucy stared in disbelief.

"Is like RaiRai!" she exclaimed.

Her two-year-old daughter wanted orange and black tiger-striped carpet in her room. And Lucy realized she might have burned up the rug, but the spirit behind it was alive and well and had been passed on through her very womb somehow.

The blonde took the swatch book. "Okay, no."

"Why?"

"Because orange and black tiger stripe is tacky."

Layla didn't understand what this meant, and even if she had, she wouldn't have cared. To a baby raised in part by a tiger, there was nothing more marvelous and wondrous than the silky, striped fur. "No! It's pretty."

Lucy sighed. "You _are_ his, after all."

This led to a furious disagreement, and the clashing of the wills of mother and daughter.

"I WANT THIS ONE!"

Lucy was exasperated by the time they finally left and was amazed at how much terror Layla had caused with her obstinacy. Layla was turning into a little bit of a brat, and she knew it was partly because her father gave in to her every whim, no matter what it was. Laxus seemed strangely inept when it came to disciplining her, but he'd zap Yuri in a heartbeat when he got out of line.

Lucy went on to the guild with her daughter who forgot she cared about carpet before they arrived, and they found Laxus hard at work on a mid-morning nap.

Layla seemed a little less than amused by the idea that _this_ is what her daddy was up to when he left every day. "Daddy's not working!"

Laxus' mouth gaped open as his head rolled and a snore escaped from his mouth.

Lucy decided to let him nap since he'd been running a little extra harder than normal at the guild and with the kids. She let Layla go play with her toddler friend Sam who happened to be at the guild and got to work on their tasks for the day.

Laxus looked cute, sleeping like that, and she smiled up at him now and then.

Marriage had been an interesting ride for them so far as they slowly learn to juggle different roles. Their lives had changed so much from when they first married, but Lucy loved every minute of their crazy lives.

When he finally woke up, it was to the smell of the unholy union of peppers sliced and eaten with chocolate pudding. Laxus opened his eyes, twitching his nose curiously until he saw his pregnant wife with a bowl of things that did not belong together in any vessel.

"Good morning," she said.

"Good morning."

She stretched a hand holding a spoonful across her desk across toward his. "Want a bite?"

"Not even to save my own life. How are my babies?"

Lucy said, "Which ones? One of them is playing magic with Gramps, one of them threw a temper tantrum in the contractor's office, and the last two are playing 'kick the bladder.'"

Laxus' brows rose. "Suddenly, we have four kids. We're a family with a lot of kids."

"Are you going to make some comment about your semen?"

He shook his head. "Those guys are bastards. This morning our son sneezed lightning and set my pants on fire. Bend your mind around this little idea: lightning snot."

Lucy laughed because for some reason, their son only had these little magical mishaps with his father.

"Where's Layla?"

"With Sam."

Laxus made a face. "That jerk…"

"He is the sweetest little cutest fattest baby ever, and you need to stop acting like that. I want at least one of our babies to be cute and chubby like that. But, you know, after he or she comes out of my vagina, and not before," she said.

Laxus smirked. "I've something fat for your-"

"I'm pregnant enough, thank you."

They were discussing disciplining their children and working on a budget - something Makarov had forgotten to make about thirty years in a row - when the mail came. Lucy was opening and sorting it when she spotted a letter from the Royal Treasury and tore it open.

Laxus saw her eagerness as she tore open the envelope, and then unfolded a letter.

Lucy read the letter first, and then held out a banknote signed by the king himself for 800,000,000 jewel.

"Fuck, how in the hell did you…" he mumbled.

Lucy flipped her hair. "Look, I'm not just cute and I'm not just a kickass wizard. I'm also _smart_ , aggressive, and ambitious about the things that matter to me. I always play to win."

"Well, I'm a little duller, I don't know anything about handling enormous sums of money. If only I knew someone who was raised from birth to manage a large fortune," he answered.

Lucy came around to his bottom drawer, where the deposit slips were kept in days past, but when she opened it, she just found all her missing panties that he'd claimed. "You're like a dog that collects bones and buries them all over." She heard his chair creak as he turned to her and look up at a devilish grin. "...I promise if you make a joke about place you put put your bone, I will punch you in your smug little face."

His grin widened a little. "The best jokes are the ones I don't even have to tell."

"Are you horny? If I take ninety seconds and handle your little problem will you behave?"

"I'm not really in the mood. I feel kind of weird today. Sick almost. I haven't been sick in almost two decades by natural means, but I think it feels like this," he said.

Lucy reached up and felt his forehead. "Oh wow, you are just a little bit hot."

"It's fine. I'm still alright. Itchy, weirdly enough."

Lucy took his word for it and went to her desk, and filled out the deposit form. She was halfway through when the door opened and Gray came in and asked, "Hey, I have a question for you guys. Have you guys both had chickenpox by any chance?"

"Yes, why?" Lucy asked.

At the mention of the word 'chickenpox,' Laxus pulled up his shirt to examine the itchy spot he'd been scratching for an hour and found a cluster of little bumps. " _Fuck…"_ he mumbled.

"Layla's got bumps all over her back. I've already had it, but I didn't want to bring her in here if Lucy could catch it," Gray said.

Lucy looked at her husband's rash. "I'm safe. Laxus, I didn't even know you dragonslayers could get sick."

"This is news to me also."

Gray returned with Layla, who had over the prior three hours, turned red and feverish, become limp as a ragdoll and couldn't have been whinier, crankier, or more pissed off to be awake.

Lucy left Gray with a to-do list, and Gray mentioned Iggy Dragneel had shown signs of it the night before. Iggy had spent the afternoon prior at the Dreyar house.

The blonde knew the onset would be pretty quick, and Laxus just looked like he'd be whiny and dependent while ill, so she carried her daughter home while he sulked. "It's not my fault, you know, so stop sulking."

Laxus made a grumble, and then he remembered something.

"Do you remember yesterday, when I came home, and you were letting Iggy and Layla take a nap together on the couch? And I was going to put that kid on the floor and you said...what did you say, Lucy?" he asked.

She sighed. "I said, 'What's the worst that can happen?'"

"How about this? He contracted a terrible plague and passed it onto our daughter," Laxus answered.

Lucy explained, "This is what kids do. Chickenpox is kind of a social disease. I'd be willing to guess you've never had it because you probably didn't have a lot of friends when you were a kid."

"Kids are both carriers and spreaders of disease, so I don't regret that at all."

He scratched his side and she slapped his hand.

"Stop scratching!"

"It's itchy!"

Lucy decided she'd send Yuri to stay with Gray if he hadn't caught the illness, but when they got home, Chelia had come home from class, easily recognized Yuri's new rash as chickenpox, and gone to the store to get medicine.

Chelia and Makarov had already had the chickenpox as well, so that just meant Laxus and the kids were susceptible, and they'd all contracted the illness.

Unfortunately for Fairy Tail, they'd been hugging and playing with babies and soon there was practically an epidemic unfolding. Porlyusica was busy going from house to house, dispensing herbs and advice and repeating Lucy's new top phrase, "STOP SCRATCHING!"

Three days in, Lucy was sure she'd have to say it until she lost her voice.

She'd watched the sores spread on all of them from head to toe, but as an adult, Laxus had become especially ill, running a terrible fever and absolutely covered with hundreds of pox.

Lucy had two feverish, cranky, itchy babies and and an even crankier, more feverish husband to deal with.

A sick Laxus was much like she expected him to be. Like all men, he was a big whiny baby when he didn't feel well and required coddling, sympathy, and great amounts of attention.

On the fourth morning after the outbreak, Lucy found Makarov rubbing lotion on her husband's back after she woke up and medicated their kids.

"How's my widdle sick dwaaagon?" Makarov asked.

Laxus had his face down on the pillow, but lifted a middle finger in reply.

"Poor baby needs his Gramps to give him medicine?"

Laxus rumbled and then sat up, glaring furiously. "Fuck off already."

His grandfather reached over to ruffle his hair. "You're always so cranky when you get sick."

Lucy came in and their two spotted babies followed, climbing up on the bed to their father. "Chelia and I have some soup on, and then after you guys eat, baking soda bath time. Then I have to run to the guild and take care of a few things. Then I have to visit Porlyusica."

"Don't leave us, Mama!" Yuri desperately pled.

His mother sat on the edge of the bed. "You guys will be fine until I get back."

"Noooooo!" Layla cried.

Laxus tried to play the role of the big tough guy, although he really wanted Lucy to stay home and baby him for the rest of the day also. She was like a superhero and mother and wife all at once in her current mode of operation, delicately balancing taking care of her sick family, tending to urgent business at the guild, and taking care of her own pregnant self.

"She's not leaving forever. Probably," he said.

This was a poor choice of words for cranky, annoyed, sick babies, and Lucy found herself trying to contend with two crying children begging her to stay.

"We need you, Mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Yuri cried.

It was getting to be fairly rare to see him cry, so she reassured them that she was going to return and that she would never leave them alone forever regardless of what their father said.

While they were sitting at the table eating their soup, Lucy helped Layla since her coordination wasn't quite ready for soup. She was pleased to see Layla seemed to have a bit of an appetite, and saw Yuri was eating a little better too. Being sick for the first time had been hard for them and they regarded it as the end of the world, but once Lucy explained that getting sick is actually fairly normal, they accepted it and were taking it fairly well.

Laxus on the other hand, took his illness as a sign of insult to his dragon slayer powers. He tried beating the illness through magical means by turning into lightning and back again and by using lightning to raise his body temperature higher than was healthy. Neither of these worked and when he tried to get Wendy to come over and do her great work, Chelia informed him that because she'd never had the illness, Wendy wouldn't be coming anywhere near the house.

Gajeel and Natsu had also come down with the chickenpox, and they took it equally badly.

Once they finished eating, she filled the big master bath with cool water, baking soda, and oatmeal, and put her spotted babies and husband in to soak.

"I want to go with you, Mama," Layla pled.

Lucy kissed her hair. "Get better and then we can go do stuff together and have lots of fun, okay? You're sick and right now you have to get better."

"Why I gots to be sick?" she asked.

Laxus said, "You got sick because of Iggy. That's what happens when you take naps with little boys. They give you diseases."

Lucy thumped him on the nose. "Laxus!"

"It's the truth. Tell me this is the first time in history a girl has ever awoken with a guy and gotten a disease from it and I'll take it back," he argued.

She narrowed her eyes. "You are terrible."

Layla said, "But Iggy is my favorite boy."

Laxus turned to his little daughter. "You know that I am also a boy?"

"Mhmm."

"And Iggy is your favorite?" he asked.

She nodded.

Lucy saw her husband sink into a full-forced sulk about this comment, and she really felt like he had it coming. She saw his eyebrow pulse a little, and was greatly amused. "Layla, that's cute. Iggy's a good friend, right? And he didn't mean to make you sick."

Layla answered, "He's handsome."

"Yes he is," Lucy replied with a smile.

Yuri looked up at his father, as if to ask, 'what is going on here?'

And Laxus shook his head. "Don't worry, son. You will never understand women, ever. And that's okay. Sometimes I think I really don't want to."

Once Lucy left, Laxus asked his daughter a series of questions and learned that Layla found him less handsome than Iggy, but more handsome than Sam. But, Sam was bigger than Iggy, and she seemed to find that favorable, and her father was her favorite 'really big guy.'

Yuri found all of this annoying and bothersome, as he and his father didn't speak about who was handsome or who was not. He'd reached a point in his life where he had toys Laxus enjoyed playing with as well, and was looking forward to time where they could play dinosaurs or run through the house shooting cap guns at each other.

Being stuck in the house for days was causing both of the males to get a little stir-crazy.

Once Laxus decided his daughter's mind was already more complicated than his was, his thought process wandered on to other subjects, like how long it had been since he slept outside and enjoyed nature. It was one thing he missed about going on regular jobs and when he looked down at his adorable spotted babies, he decided he'd like them to know how wonderful it was too.

"We should go camping," he said.

"What's that?" Yuri asked.

Their father answered, "It's where you go out into the wilderness, and you sleep outside and enjoy being in nature and away from people. Listen to the sounds of bugs and birds and water and the wind in the trees, take in the smells of the forest...I think you're old enough to learn how to hold a fishing pole. We could catch and eat fish and see wild animals and mountains."

Yuri was so excited by this he almost couldn't breathe. "Let's go right now!"

Laxus looked at his daughter, who seemed less than excited. "Sleep where?"

"Outside. On the ground, under blankets. Maybe in a little tent."

She added, " _..and bugs?"_

Yuri said, "Big bugs?"

"Huge bugs," their father answered.

Layla was very dubious about this, but Laxus knew she wasn't quite as prissy as she seemed to act at times.

Laxus made little plans in his mind to take them to his favorite little spot. It would give Lucy a nice little baby-cation after the chickenpox debacle was over and he'd get to spend some quality time with the little ones before Lucy was so pregnant he didn't want to leave home. He'd start teaching them the basics of life in the wild, about fishing and foraging and eating berries straight off the plant.

The idea made him so excited he almost forgot he was covered in blisters and that his daughter found a baby to be more handsome than him.

Lucy meanwhile was at the guild paying the bills. It was quiet, because in the two days before Layla manifested signs of chickenpox, all the babies had been there and they were passed around happily as always. Both dormitories were practically under quarantine, and the people who weren't out on jobs or sick were staying away from the guild to keep from getting sick.

It was nearly empty except for a few people who had acquired immunity.

Mirajane was sitting at the bar, waiting for someone to need something; it had been slow for days at that point.

Lucy was on her way out when she took a look at the sparse crowd. "It's amazing we all stuck together against Phantom Lord and Alvarez, but scattered to the ends of the earth over chickenpox."

She giggled. "Isn't it? Men are such big babies. Freed's kinda cute when he's sick."

"Really? Laxus couldn't be less cute. He's so needy."

"That's what makes it cute. I think men never really outgrow being babies, and when they get sick, they revert back. Freed promised me I could have anything I want if I take care of him," she said.

"What did you ask for?"

Mirajane grinned. "I told him when he gets better he needs to get in there and get me pregnant already. He threw up - I don't know if that was because he's sick or not. I just know I'm not going to let Lisanna raise a family while I stay a barren old hag. Everyone is having babies except me."

"It's really not that widespread. Just Gajeel and Levy, Natsu and Lisanna, and Laxus and I. There are lots of people not having kids."

The white-haired mage said, "Well, I want to get pregnant and that's that. Besides, you have a bun in that oven so often you might as well keep it preheated and ready to go."

Lucy decided to leave Mirajane and her biological clock alone for the time being. In a family with two girls, it was customary for the eldest to get married and become a mother first, but poor Natsu had disrupted the flow of this, however accidentally.

She went on to see Porlyusica, who was worn out from making house calls to Fairy Tail members.

"Come in," she said, "How are the babies?"

"They're doing better. I think that yesterday might have been the worst point. Today they were eating a little better. Laxus seems a little better as well," she answered.

The old woman gestured to a bed. "Oh, I'm not worried about Laxus. He's like a cockroach. Nothing can kill him."

Lucy slipped her panties down under her dress and sat on the bed. Now five months into her third pregnancy, she knew the drill. The old woman pulled on some gloves, and did an exam, asking about the kids and life in general. She'd been very difficult when Lucy first started coming for exams, but she'd warmed up, especially towards their family.

When she finished, Lucy put her underwear back on.

"You want to know what you got cooking in there?"

Lucy nodded and held out her hand.

Porlyusica made a tiny cut on one of her fingers, let the blood drip into a little bowl, and then went to her grand apothecary work, mashing herbs and magic tinctures. "Are you hoping for boys, girls, one of each?"

"I don't know...after today, I'm not sure if Laxus needs anymore daughters. He's weird."

"Weird?"

The blonde said, "Layla told him today that Iggy is her favorite guy, and that she finds him more handsome than her father. I bet he's still sulking. And when she acts up, he really doesn't discipline her very well."

Porlyusica smiled just a little. "Sounds like he's shaping up to be alright after all. You can always look on the bright side. However he treats her is how she'll expect to be treated by men. She'll probably grow up well...maybe a little bratty, but she really gets that from you."

"...hey! I'm not a brat!"

"Laxus spoils you to death."

"No! Since when!"

Porlyusica crossed her arms while she waited for her potion to cure. "I think because he's always spoiled you, you don't realize he's doing it. Since the beginning, people have talked about how he adores you, gives you gifts, puts you on a pedestal...you have a nanny and have two spa days a month. You are spoiled. As far as I know, he's never told you no on anything ever."

Lucy asked, "Why would he?"

"Because that's what normal un-spoiled wives hear often. Personally, I believe you'll probably be spoiled for the rest of your life."

Lucy felt like her world was suddenly upside down while she considered her life. On their first date, he bought her a gorgeous dress and treated her to the time of her life. After that, their courtship was a series of wonderful dates, great gifts, and him making sure she was happy all the time. She really couldn't remember anything she really wanted that he hadn't let her have. And that didn't just apply to physical things, either.

How many pregnant women got to eat ice cream in a warm bath while getting a back massage?

How had she been married for four years and not ever realized exactly how spoiled she was?

Once Porlyusica told her the genders of her babies, she headed home and found her husband sitting shirtless on Yuri's bed with a bedtime story with equally half-clothed and blister-covered children.

They were all so happy to see her because they all as individuals preferred it be Lucy who looked after them while sick. She was the nurturer, the nurse, the soup maker, the wife, the mother, the everything to all of them at the moment. A nanny or grandfather was nothing compared to that, and she felt a little special to see how happy they were that she was home.

Once the kids were rubbed down with ointment and in bed, Lucy took her husband to bed and after rubbing him down, she laid in the bed and smiled at him.

"Your exam was good?"

Lucy nodded. "The babies are growing well."

He rolled over to rub her belly. "You take such good care of us."

"What can I say? I kinda like you."

"Kinda? God, I wish my cock wasn't covered in chickenpox."

"Do you want me to…"

His expression soured. "Please don't touch it. That'll probably be the only time in my life I ever say that."

She smiled. "So, guess what I found out?"

He looked over at her. "What?"

Laxus was expecting her to tell him about what the gender of their babies was, since she'd hit the point she found out during her other pregnancies.

Instead, she rolled on her side to face him and said, "I'm really a spoiled wife."

"Of course you are. I kinda like you," he teased.

Lucy stared up at him in the most adoring, sweet way and he wished yet again that he didn't have sores on his penis. Normally, if she gave him that look, he nailed her to the nearest hard surface. He tried to think of something to say or do, but he really didn't have words for her. He knew it was ridiculously gross they were all not only sick, but blistered and really needing a lot of attention, but Lucy took good care of him and their babies.

"I want to take the kids camping once they're back to good," he announced.

He excitedly told her of his grand plan, and Lucy knew Layla probably wouldn't appreciate the 'great outdoors' very much. Layla didn't even like walking in grass that was too tall, but she knew he wouldn't let them get hurt and he'd probably just carry her everywhere like always.

Lucy believed it was good for them to share a variety of experiences with the kids, and she felt like it would be good for them to spend time alone with their father. It was healthy for them and for him also.

When he was almost asleep, she said, "So, names for our babies. I have some ideas."

"Oh?"

"How about Anna and Mavis?"

"And boy names?"

"We don't need any."

He sat up. "They're both girls for sure?"

Lucy nodded. "A boy and three girls. That's a nice little family."

"That's perfect."

"A whole family of spoiled girls?"

Her husband kissed her belly. "That sounds great, really. It's something to be father to a daughter. It'll be fun having a bunch of little girls."

"So, I'm never getting pregnant again," she announced.

"I don't think I want you to. Four is a good number. Five, six, seven...that's a bit much since we have a lot to do."

Lucy asked, "Is now a good time to talk about vasectomy?"

Laxus sat up in the bed. "When your husband is covered in sores is the best time to bring up genital mutilation."

"I get pregnant kind of easily."

He looked down at his crotch. "Understatement."

 _ **Please Review!**_

AN: _Melee: Fight Your Way to Love_ is almost over, so I started another Lalu called _Star Crossed Sarcasm._

 _Special thanks to zsummern, boyceashlee, guest, numinous-alqua, rere97maui, kurakieiritr JIO, yumeyumi1986, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, aoutre, Thornado, silverghostkitsune, mewhee89, paname, killer-kelly420, xxshyxx, katieboom, katelyn, sassykitten1701, lunastarlady, katiekat2001, otaku4ever731, savygirl1515, megumiyoung, deathassassinfaerie, andy24amk, and the alicehuntt for reviewing!_


	34. The Babies Visit Nature

The Great Outdoors!

"IT'S STICKY!"

Laxus listened to his little daughter shriek.

The wild according to Layla was bumpy, sticky, prickly, and icky.

Yuri followed Laxus slowly down a gentle path that was familiar to his father. Vaguely, Laxus could remember making a similar journey with his own father, at a time when Ivan felt like trying, although that hadn't lasted long. The path was steady, and it was just easy enough for Yuri to follow, although Laxus had to walk very slow as Yuri had to climb over vines he easily stepped over.

As for Layla?

She wasn't particularly fond of things that were new, and Laxus was sure she'd be fine once she got over the fact she was outside in the wild. As they made their way to a spot Laxus picked out in his mind to camp in, he carried her on his hip because she made it clear she wasn't going to do the outdoors for the time being.

Trying to get Layla to walk when she didn't want to always reminded him of the day he tried to walk Raijin with a collar and leash (everyone had a bad day that day). Moody, a little volatile, but docile and slow moving until she decided to strike. She was a shy girl, but it seemed like every day, he saw a better glimpse of what kind of person she was shaping up to be.

Yuri was fascinated by the forest, by the sounds of the creatures and the wind in the canopy of trees, by the sights of tiny creatures scurrying about at the corner of his peripheral vision, by the scents of countless living things, by the feeling of unfamiliar things under his fingers, and by the taste of the weird things in the forest his father let him eat: berries, some minty leaves that made his tongue tingle, and a carefully selected and safe mushroom.

"I need to potty."

Laxus put his hand on his son's head. "Stay right here, and don't move."

He took his daughter to some bushes and put her down on the mulchy forest floor before he slid his big pack off his back and produced some tissue.

"When we camp, you can just...well, maybe take off your pants and underwear."

Layla looked left and right. "Where is the potty?"

"You can go on the ground."

His daughter was silent for the better part of thirty seconds, but he watched her eyebrows slowly descend into the kind of irrationally rage-filled expression that only a little girl could get away with. "I want to go home right now," she finally said.

Laxus promised Lucy he'd stop letting their daughter order him around, and decided this would be their battleground. He really didn't understand what the big deal was, but after a lot of crying and complaining, he finally talked her into peeing on the ground. He wondered if maybe it was a bad idea to bring a two-year-old girl into the wondrous wilderness, but he was convinced she'd like it eventually.

"And now I wash my hands!"

"Look, we're _camping_. Your hands are going to be dirty. You're going to poop outside. Don't you like nature at all?"

Her eyes narrowed in a very Lucy-esque way. "NO."

Laxus picked her up and put her back on his hip and returned to the path where Yuri had just finished eating a mushroom despite his father's warnings not to eat any mushrooms unless he picked them. Having heard the screaming commotion of his finicky sister and their father, he had a somewhat exasperated look on his face.

"You better get used to it, son. You're going to be surrounded by girls for the rest of your life."

"Can I pee in the woods?"

"Of cour-not here! At least take a few steps off the path with me, geeze…"

Laxus watched his children have a moment where they stared one another down and Yuri seemed to be thinking 'girls are weird and confusing' while Layla thought 'boys are dirty and gross.' Their father chuckled at them and actually ended up carrying both.

Their camp site was next to the calm bank of a slow stream under a full moon. It was warm, and the night was perfect. There were fireflies seemingly everywhere while he set up the tent.

Layla was absolutely captivated by the little insects and ventured into some very tall grass to reach out to them.

Ivan once took him to this spot when he was tiny, probably about Layla's age, and he could still remember. It was one of their few good memories together, and he'd somehow managed to hold onto the memory all those years even when he didn't want to. Remembering the way he felt as a tiny little boy toward his father made it hard for him to hate Ivan, although he wasn't sure why he still wanted to. His oldest memory was of loving his dad and the forest and the fireflies.

And truthfully, he'd missed being out in nature so much since he became guildmaster, but that part of his life was more or less over. There would be times now and then, but he wasn't a single guy whose primary goal was being the strongest. Now, his goal was to be strong for others; the kids at the guild, and his babies too.

They were magical creatures, the product of Heartfilia and Dreyar bloodlines crossing. And as such, he wanted them to learn how to feel the world around them and to embrace magic, a supremely wild, primal force.

He built a campfire while they ran about until Layla decided she _was_ a firefly. Then they ran around in the tall, wild grass playing with their magic.

"Firefly, Lightning Bug, let's eat."

He washed their hands in the river and they sat down to eat the sandwiches and soup Lucy forced Laxus to carry about as if he was unable to find a meal in the forest. Were it not for these sandwiches, they'd probably be sitting around a lightning-fried boar, but he suspected his picky daughter would have a pretty low opinion of anything so greasy or meaty.

Yuri asked, "When will I grow up?"

"You're growing up right now. Just slowly."

"When will I be bigger than you?" he eagerly asked.

This concept of 'growing up' was a little new and completely revolutionary to Yuri. Laxus could more or less pinpoint the day his son realized he was actually going to turn into a grown up someday. Since then, Yuri had been making some fairly involved plans.

Laxus sipped soup from his little bowl. "Have you decided what you want to do when you grow up?"

He waited for his son to answer and looked at his daughter who was completely gone in the experience of being in the wild that she barely ate.

"I want to build buildings!"

Building the new house spurred Yuri's curiosity in construction and in this particular phase of his childhood, he was less about dinosaurs and more about building blocks and magic trucks and all kinds of other construction paraphernalia.

His father said, "So I don't really want to crush your dreams, but you are a dragon. You will probably spend your entire life as a grownup destroying buildings. And you will like it."

Yuri seemed momentarily distraught, but then asked, "It's fun?"

"Of course."

"I'll be a dragon then! Rawrrr!" he exclaimed, breathing out a few crackles of lightning. "And climb a mountain. I want to be like you someday. But bigger. How tall will you be when I'm grown?"

"Grownups stay the same height, and then when they get really old, they actually start shrinking."

Laxus stuck his finger in his daughter's ear because he couldn't stand for a girl not to pay attention to him. She squealed and gave him a dirty look. "You're just like your mother."

"You're bothering me!"

Sometimes, he felt the same motivation to annoy his daughter that he felt toward his wife. Pissed off girls were cute to him, no matter the age. The fact that Layla made the same expressions and had such a similar face only motivated him further, and when he reached over to tickle her, she tried to bat his hand away.

Laxus easily tickled her anyway, and when she was finished giggling and scowling, he said, "How about you? When you get big, what do you want to do?"

"I dunno."

Laxus moved his hands to the bag for some marshmallows and smores supplies. They ate smores, and Laxus chased them around for a while, and then they stayed up and looked up at the moon until the kids were sound asleep in a bed of grass. Laxus covered them with a blanket and enjoyed being in the still of the wild for the first time in quite a while.

A noise deep in the forest caused by the movement of people caused Yuri to jerk awake thanks to his dragon ears, but the first thing he saw was his father leaning against a tree, looking after them.

Yuri crawled out from under the blanket, but carefully covered Layla up with it.

"You're a good brother. Are ready to be big brother to three sisters?"

"Dad, girls are still weird."

"They'll be weird until the end of time."

There were times Laxus almost couldn't believe that the little boy standing before him was the screaming, squirming little baby they'd had. He once said 'let's make a baby' and now they had a wonderful son who had a personality and desires and hopes of his own.

"Do you ever think a girl is pretty?" his father asked.

Yuri seemed weirdly confused by this question. "What girl?"

"Any girl."

"Hmmmm...no."

"Not even Mama?"

"That's Mama."

Yuri would argue on any day until he was blue in the face that his mother and sister were his Mama and Layla and they were not 'girls.' Other females in his age group besides his sister he seemed to lump into one gigantic category so he could avoid them without much thought. Which was funny because Laxus couldn't take his son to the park without girls chasing his polite but aloof son all over the place.

Laxus once heard a little girl tell him he was cute, which he replied to by saying 'okay, bye' and walking backwards away from her with weird awkward body language his father recognized as his own. Lucy referred to this was 'Recurrent Laxusism.'

His daughter was the opposite.

He wondered what the twins would be like.

He wondered if Yuri would take his own kid to this place in twenty-five years. Which just made him more curious about what went on inside his head. "In your grand plan, when you're all grown up, are you going to have kids?"

"Yeah! I'll be the boss of 'em!"

"Oh? You know that means you're going to have to learn how to talk to a girl then, right?"

"Why?"

"No reason. We'll finish this conversation in about a decade or so."

Layla sat up and rubbed her eyes, and then trudged barefoot in the grass in a half asleep state to her father, plopped down in his lap, and snuggled up to his chest under his coat without saying as much as a word.

He knew they were going to love nature like he did when they slept outside with him instead of in the tent.

XXX

Lucy awoke the morning her husband brought the kids home from their nature adventure to the strangest phenomena. She emitted little electrical shocks every time she touched anything. It vaguely reminded her of the day she ran into Laxus at the market and she had a static electricity field from having balloons rubbed on her. This had, strangely enough, led to their courtship and eventual marriage, which in turn brought about this peculiar pregnancy.

Seven months pregnant with twins, she was already bigger than she'd ever been with either of her other pregnancies and currently weighed more than she ever had in her entire life. Her belly was covered in angry little red lines, and most of her joints hurt because suddenly, she was heavy.

She went to the mirror and saw her hair was standing up everywhere.

She rubbed her belly and said, "Look, I don't know which one of you is pissed off today, but this isn't as funny or as cool as you seem to think it is. Give your poor mama a break."

Lucy pled with her unborn, gave up, and went about her day as well as possible while she awaited her husband's arrival home.

The kids were asleep by the time they made it home, and Laxus released them to the nanny to bathe and put to bed. He'd carried them almost the entire way home, and Layla he'd never really put down except at the campsite. He was tired and he needed a shower and a nap himself.

He climbed the stairs of their new home, which he was trying to get used to. Their old house normally smelled like playdoh, macaroni and cheese, and air freshener, along with a weird scent the tiger left that only Yuri and Laxus could smell. It was the scent of a predator, and the dragons also excreted something similar.

The new house smelled like construction dust and new carpet, but it was big and the kids had their own playroom and he had a study and the family could sprawl out and not annoy one another when necessary.

Makarov was in the living room writing in a ledger, probably for one of his business ventures with Chelia. "Your wife is pissed."

"What did I do now?"

"Go see for yourself."

Laxus headed upstairs, and while peeling his clothes off for a shower, saw her laying in the bed with her hair sort of standing up and moving about on its own. He chuckled and jumped in the shower, knowing at least one of the babies had some dragon blood in her. This pleased him as all the other dragon babies were males and there was some talk that maybe dragon blood only passed to boys.

He was going to have a little dragon girl, maybe two.

Lucy was waiting was waiting for him when he emerged from their bathroom. "Laxus! Tell your kid to settle down and stop electrifying their mother."

"At least they're not electrocuting you."

"Laxus! God, they're worse than you after…"

Sometimes, after an incredible romp involving multiple rounds of sex, Laxus left her similarly surrounded by static electricity. He was usually amused and pleased with himself that left her like that until after he slept.

"I don't know how that leads to an imbalance. I take your ions, but I give you my-"

The glare she gave him stopped him mid-sentence and he reached out and poked her, causing the static electricity to drop.

They spent most of the afternoon resting in bed as the kids were napping for once, and when Lucy woke up and went downstairs, she found her son sitting on the floor of living room with all his big cardboard blocks. The kids had been told they had their own play space, but they refused to accept the idea that the adults could claim any part of the house.

He'd put the big hollow blocks in proper order, making a crude structure from stacked blocks. And he seemed so pleased with himself.

Lucy thought it was _so damn cute_ that her son wanted to be a builder and make houses and she'd spoken to him often about it. Yuri was quite imaginative and had an idea of what kinds of things he wanted to make someday. "That's really good, what is it?"

"The bad guys are here. Don't worry, I'll get 'em, Mama."

The little boy who wanted to create was suddenly gone and there was a nearly sinister glint in Yuri's eyes as he continued to work.

Lucy sat on the sofa and rubbed her belly. "Yuri, what makes them bad men?"

"They are robbers."

"What did they rob?"

"A zoo."

"What did they steal?"

"A giraffe! I like giraffes!"

He was just like his father, without trying, without knowing, without even thinking that the little dragon was standing in the footprints of his big dragon daddy.

Well into the era of imaginative play, he was capable of creating some fairly creative scenarios. "Lay down," he said.

Lucy played along and laid down on the couch as her son finished his construction.

Yuri jumped atop the coffee table. "I'll get you, you robbers!"

He leapt face-first into the blocks and knocked the whole construction down, and then spent the better part of two minutes throwing the blocks all over the room and making growling noises. This reminded Lucy of every dragon slayer ever. She'd never seen him so thoroughly enjoy anything in his life, and when he'd successfully scattered all the blocks, he picked up an action figure.

"Oh no, they're running for the mountain!" he said as he 'walked' the action figures over Lucy's belly.

His mother said, "Wait a minute, is my _belly_ the mountain?!"

"Yeah. Cause it's so big," he innocently said.

Lucy realized her son had her lay down not because she played an intricate role in his little pretend play, but because her massively pregnant belly happened to be so big it reminded him of a mountain. She sat up and glared at him.

She was going to let him get away with it until the 'robber' went back to the ruins of the previous structure and Yuri decided it would be a great idea to use his somewhat puny lightning breath as well.

Yuri was embracing this destruction, and delighting in it, but cardboard blocks and lightning were a terribly flammable combination and they burnt up and scorched the wood floor.

Lucy watched in horror as her little boy had the grandest revelation about life as a dragon:

"Mama, I like to break stuff!"

His mother knew it wasn't a coincidence that the little boy left to spend some quality time with dad and came back acting like dad. They all knew that Yuri, slowly but surely, was evolving and would someday simply mutate into his father's little clone. From babyhood, Yuri had desired nothing more than to be like his father.

Laxus raced downstairs and found his son amongst the smoldering ruins of his cardboard blocks, looking almost high from exhilaration.

Lucy looked at him as if to say, ' _You know this is your fault.'_

And he looked at her as if to reply, ' _Probably is. So what?'_

"Please tell your son not to set our brand new house on fire and that my stomach is not a mountain."

Laxus looked down at his son. "No fires in the house."

"...and?"

"I'm not lying to our son. I heard Mount Prego is the highest peak in all of Fiore."

Yuri ran upstairs to get more toys and Lucy said, "You better talk to him about fires in the house, Laxus. I let your little boy stuff go but this is serious. And did you tell him that he'd like tearing stuff up?"

Laxus shrugged. "I don't really remember."

"I will kick your tail if that boy burns this house down. At least, I want to say I'll do that, but I don't know if I still have feet. I kind of assume they're there, but I haven't seen them in a while."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **AN: just a short little chapter I was thinking about today at work.**_

 _ **Special thanks to guest, kurahieiritr JIO, ninjapenguinlover, fiddlefightsong, silverghostkitsune, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, thornado, Ladyallyssa, arouraleona, megumiyoung, katelyn, thealicehuntt, lunastarlady, killer-kelly420, katiekat2001, silverwolf-fox, guest, sassykitten1701, andy24amk, savygirl1515, and 33p1987 for reviewing!**_


	35. The Attack

"Babe, I need a favor."

"What is it?"

"Can you please shave my testicles?"

Laxus held out the razor, and Lucy took it and sighed. "The things I do for you."

She had bad news for him, but she decided she'd wait until they were ready to go to sleep.

Deciding they had enough kids was an important milestone in their marriage and considering how easily Lucy got pregnant, if they kept having sex, Baby Number Five was an unfortunate inevitability. They had a guild to run, and they already had four kids, even if two of them had yet to make their appearance.

They made an appointment, went to see a doctor, and were currently on the eve of Laxus' vasectomy.

Since they were about to have two newborns, it seemed like the ideal time for him to have the procedure, have a couple of down days, and then be good. Once the twins were born, 'down days' were going to be a laughable idea.

This pregnancy had been a little more complicated and a lot more difficult for his wife, as it took an immeasurable amount of energy for her body to support two babies, at least one of which drained her magic power continually. She always looked tired and achy, but she never complained and she stayed on top of her game.

He'd brought a couch into their office, and she spent hours during the afternoon napping in between bookkeeping and keeping up with guild members and then going home and looking after their little ones.

Lucy asked, "They'll do that for you at the doctor's office, right?"

"That little redheaded nurse, probably."

His wife narrowed her eyes and held up the razor. "Did you think she was cute?"

"Not really. I kind of have a thing for blondes. I don't really want you in a bad mood while you have a razor by my nuts. It's nothing personal, I just kind of need them."

Lucy had him lay down on the bed and she sat down between her legs with the razor, a wet rag, and some shaving soap. "How do you want it?"

"Just shave everything so they don't do it at the appointment. Be careful."

His wife asked, "Even the hairs between your butt cheeks?"

He sat up on his shoulders. "Babe, I'll get rid of the hair between mine if you get rid of the hair between yours."

"Very funny. That's from pregnancy hormones."

He rolled his eyes. "You've had hair in your buttcrack since way before you got pregnant the first time. The pregnancy just made it worse. You can only blame the pregnancy for your elbow hair."

Lucy glared. "That is completely hormonal and guess what? It's your fault. I have elevated hormones because I have two babies inside of me. And apparently your babies want mommy to grow a mustache."

Laxus leaned forward and stared at her upper lip.

"I plucked it."

Her husband chuckled and laid back. "I so glad I married you. I think I don't say that enough, but fuck, you've made my life great."

After spraying some shaving cream on him, she smiled. "I'm glad we got married too. It's been fun, right? When we were engaged, I'd have little thoughts sometimes about whether or not I should get married so young, but I'm so glad. Being young and married is a nice thing too, if you're with the right person."

The task was completed with careful hands, and after she wiped him off, she looked down. "The tree looks a little bit bigger without the forest."

"You like it?"

She thought about it for a while. "Not really. I like you hairy. If you'll excuse me, I have to deforest my butt crack."

Laxus slid out of the bed and put his boxers on. "First, I think with how huge your stomach is, that's physically impossible and two, that's an awful place to get razor burn so please leave it alone."

"Speaking of things I can't do because my belly is too big, you want to clip and paint my toenails?"

Marriage was a wonderful thing to Lucy, and she was always glad she'd made the choices she did. They'd reached a point where they were completely comfortable with themselves and with each other that everything was fine and good. His body, her body, bodily functions, illnesses, whatever it was, they stuck together. It took a lot of growth and intimacy to get to that point.

Lucy still found him so handsome, but if she looked, she could see he'd aged over the years they'd been together. So, as he cut and filed her toenails as she sat on the bed and he knelt on the floor, she said, "You're going to be handsome when you get old."

He smirked. "I hope so. I've got a stupidly gorgeous wife I need to keep happy."

She instructed him and he applied 'two thin but full' coats of pink polish to her toes with surprising success.

"So…about my appointment today," she said.

Laxus stood up and looked down at her. "Everything okay?"

"Well, no, actually. I have kind of a serious problem, and I need you to not freak out about it because it's going to be okay. Okay?"

Her husband was in no way going to be calm, and Lucy knew that. She also knew there was nothing she could change about it and that whether or not she liked it, he was going to worry until the babies were born.

"What is it?" he asked, sitting next to her.

Lucy said, "The doctor says I have a placental abnormality that's causing the little bleeds. Porlyusica agrees with that. The doctor said we have to have a c-section a couple of weeks before the due date because I can't give birth vaginally."

Her husband seemed even more worried then. "What happens if it happens fast like with Yuri?"

"I could bleed too much. So I have appointment at the hospital in three weeks. Everything will be fine. The babies have already been in there long enough they'd be okay even if we had to have them now, and I'm fine. There's no need to worry. And we can't have sex."

His face twisted with anxiety for a few minutes while he digested the fact that his wife might be in real danger because she was pregnant. "Are you in pain?"

Lucy shook her head. "I feel great."

"You'll be okay?"

She nodded.

Laxus laid down with her and then put his head on her stomach. There was quite a lot of movement in her belly, sometimes at weird hours.

They fell asleep and soon after he felt a distinct force that awoke him. He looked up at Lucy who was obviously awake and staring at her belly in annoyance.

"I think I just got kicked in the head? That was kind of hard to wake me up."

"How do you think I feel? These are the worst tenants I've ever had. I've given them their notice that I'm going to put them out in three weeks. And I need to pee," she answered.

Then Laxus felt her suddenly electrify, and her hair started to stand up. "That again."

"...the _worst_ tenants, did I mention that? That's why I'm not letting anybody live in my uterus ever again. It's going to stay vacant indefinitely."

Laxus helped her out of the bed. "You still feel okay?"

She took a deep breath because she knew he was going to worry her to death for the next three weeks. "I'm really doing good, Baby. Oh, silly me, I thought I'd been asleep for awhile, but it's only been half an hour. Between babies and my bladder, I haven't had a good sleep in so long."

After she used the restroom, she snuggled back into the bed and he whispered to her quietly.

"We can make a schedule. There are four adults in the house. I have to go to work, but we can take turns on twin duty. Chelia, you, me, and Gramps. Gramps is going to useful whether he wants to or not. I don't know if you've noticed this, but there is nothing wrong with him. At all. The doctors made it sound like he was going to be incapable of taking care of himself. He's completely healthy and pays no rent. Baby duty indeed."

Lucy was already asleep by the time he finished explaining his plans.

The next morning, Lucy slept in and Laxus showered and dressed for his procedure. He came downstairs and found his children having a dispute about what kind of breakfast cereal was the best. Yuri was, of course, on the side of Cheerios.

Makarov was sitting at the table with coffee and a newspaper, and Chelia was throwing textbooks into her backpack. "Today's the day?" Makarov asked.

Laxus nodded. "I want you to make sure Lucy stays at home and rests today. She's tired. She has a complication. I'm not happy, and if she gets any more uncomfortable, everyone is going to be sorry." He looked down and said, "You two, be on your _best_ behavior. If you act up while your mother is pregnant, I'll deal with you when I get home and I promise I'm going to be in a bad mood."

They knew he was being quite serious. He was a lax disciplinarian with Layla, but he'd get her for giving Lucy grief in her current state and he was ready to teach his son a lesson or two since he was older.

Layla slid off her chair and ran to him, throwing her arms up and jumping so he could catch her and hold her close. She kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be good, Daddy!"

She said this, and she was sweet and cuddly and kiss-y, but the chances that she'd throw a temper tantrum or be cranky was at least twenty times higher than the chances her brother would misbehave.

"I want to see Iggy and Sam," she said.

Laxus scowled at her. "You're already being bad. Let's make a deal. You can have one for a friend and the other one you have to tell to go away forever."

"How about no," his daughter answered, "I miss Iggy, he's my handsome guy."

His brows rose a bit. "I'm starting to think you understand that offends me and that's why you do it. In which case, the apple has not fallen far from the tree. Both of you do stuff to piss me off and let me say this: it works."

Layla stared at him a little blankly and then hugged onto him. "You're so big and strong, Daddy."

Yuri looked swallowed a mouthful of cereal. "'Morning, Daddy."

His babyish tendencies were vanishing quickly as he started to move over into the next stage of childhood. There were mere weeks between Yuri and the beginning of preschool, and he seemed to be taking it in stride although he was unhappy to learn that part of school would involve meaningful interaction with girls.

Laxus sat down next to his son. "Take extra good care of your Mama, okay? If she looks like she's not feeling well, go get another grownup immediately. Stay out of trouble. Don't cause her any grief. Make sure you keep your toys picked up since she can't really see where she's walking so well."

He nodded, and Laxus knew if he asked, Yuri would make sure he did it.

Yuri was shaping up to be a really good little boy. He looked after his mom and his sister, and he behaved most of the time. Of course, he had his boy moments, but for the most part Laxus was just so proud of him. He ruffled his son's hair. "You're a good son."

His son seemed a little awkward about the compliment and tried to figure out how to respond. Finally, he said, "You're a good dad?" as if he didn't know what to say.

"Is that a question?"

"I don't know."

Laxus wanted to hug his poor awkward son to death, because he found it weirdly adorable how strange Yuri was at times. "I'll be back later, okay?"

Makarov looked up from his newspaper. "I still think you should have at least thirty."

"Says the guy who had one kid," his grandson said.

His grandfather rolled his eyes. "Can you blame me? You know how that one turned out. If I made nice and cute babies like these, you'd have a hundred cousins at least. But then you wouldn't get all my attention and I know that would kill you."

"I'd be devastated," he sarcastically answered.

At the doctor's office, the father of four was displeased to find that the doctor who was supposed to perform his surgery was sick and another surgeon had been scheduled to take his place.

She was blonde, dressed a bit sexy for a doctor, and in her early thirties. Had this been a day before Lucy came along, he would have been trying to crawl in her bed already, but he had no such interest and found her apparent sexual interest a little unnerving.

"I'm Dr. Harper, but you can call me Rachael. Or whatever you want, to be honest. It's not often I get to perform surgery on such a fine specimen," she said as she held his folder in her hands.

He looked from the tray of instruments and found his anxiety like what he felt at the dentist, except all those sharp point things were on their way to his groin and not his mouth.

"I see you're a father of four, impressive. Married?"

Laxus inwardly cringed. "For over four years. I have a great wife."

"Are you nervous about having this procedure performed by a woman?"

"You look like you know you probably know your way around a man's testicles."

The woman gave him an icy glare and went through the procedure, describing it in a most horrifying way. Laxus tried to be unfazed with this, but like any man, some combination of a big needle and his groin was a most uncomfortable idea.

The nurse came in and after stripping, he found himself on a table while one woman felt him up in a very weird way and another watched. He felt awkward and weirdly embarrassed, because he hadn't had another woman look at him in so long.

They made medical comments about this and that, and then came the needle.

After the numbness kicked in, the procedure only took twenty minutes, and he sat with his eyes clenched closed while he felt pulling and other weird sensations. He heard the sound of stitching, felt them move to the other side, and then just like that, it was over.

It was pleasantly short and not-complicated at all. The most uncomfortable thing about the procedure was the doctor making bedroom-y eyes at him. In light of this, he was quite glad he hadn't let Lucy come along. She had her moments when it came to other women and him, just like he would have snapped the neck of the guy that tried to talk her into having an affair.

He was sore, but not really that much. It wasn't debilitating, so he went by the guild, took care of the urgent business, and found Freed waiting the tables.

Laxus arched one brow. "Do I want to know?"

"The lovely demon seems to have morning sickness. Apparently that's my fault, even though it was her idea," he answered, loading a tray up with beers.

"So you guys…"

Freed nodded. "I'm excited."

Laxus answered, "Freed of the Dark and Demon Mirajane? I feel like when it's time for her to have the baby a portal to hell will open. I'm sure the baby will take after both of you: looks pretty, but changes into something ugly and mean when cranky."

His lifelong friend and most loyal companion blanched at this comment. "I hadn't thought of that."

"I can't wait to see what comes out of that woman's body," the dragon slayer teased.

He was having a good laugh at Freed's expense when he felt a sharp pinch. "Ow! Shit…"

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

With the numbness wearing off fully, he realized he was actually a big wimp when it came to certain kinds of pain.

Meanwhile, Lucy had awoken and with the 'help' of her two small children, had managed to get dressed and come downstairs. She had a craving for a gyro from the restaurant not far from the house, and she honestly wanted to get out and move around a little.

Layla was already down for a mid-morning nap after an exciting morning of playing tag in their big backyard, and Makarov was also taking asleep while Yuri played with his blocks.

"You want to go with me to get something to eat?"

Yuri nodded. "I like eating all the time just like you."

"Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome," he sweetly answered.

The boy disappeared briefly to get his shoes, and then sat on the floor and put them on. He took the laces in hand and with careful thought, muttered to himself. She and Yuri had been working on shoe-tying for a couple of months, and he was finally at a point where he could follow the steps and successfully complete the task. This was a major milestone for any kid. "Crossover, under, bunny ear, around...pull."

According to books about parenting, their kids were always a little ahead of expectations. They walked a little early, talked a little early, and were both excellent with speech and learning. That always made her feel happy as a mother, and she sometimes casually mentioned how advanced her little ones were when her days involved coming across the spoiled housewives of the neighborhood.

"You're getting so big. I remember when you were in my tummy," she said as she scribbled on a note and stuck it to the refrigerator.

He reached up for his mother's hand as they left the house. "Mommy?"

"Yes, son?"

"How did I get out of your tummy?" he asked.

"Magic, my little Thunder Baby. Magic."

"Oh. Okay."

As he could think of no other way, magic made perfect sense and his mental process moved right along, ignorant to truth he'd bypassed so easily. "Mama, I like how you walk like a duck."

Yuri imitated her 'pregnant with twins' waddle in a most unflattering way, although he wasn't insulting her deliberately. He had an appreciation for strange things and was quite amused with how huge her belly was and how she waddled about. He'd figured out that if he stood in a specific place right in front of her that she couldn't see him, which made sneaking up on her easy and fun.

Lucy and Yuri arrived at the little restaurant and he was happy to eat and overeat with his mother. Yuri would eat all sorts of weird foods, so he was a great companion for pregnancy-induced binges. He never judged her choice of foods and had quite a few interesting combinations of his own.

Yuri saw a man approach their table from behind Lucy, and he didn't quite understand anything he felt, but he knew he felt like something bad was about to happen. "Mama!"

Lucy jerked around just as an arm reached for her and was slapped away as Loke appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arm.

"Lucy, get out of here with your son," he calmly said.

Normally, she would have screamed and argued, but she had two babies in her womb and one looking on with a determined but fearful expression.

There were three wizards and the fight that broke out was ugly, and Lucy didn't really know what was going on. She had a very limited amount of magic at this point in her pregnancy and when the fight broke out she wasn't really sure what to do.

One of the wizards grabbed Yuri, and she felt the type of murderous righteous indignation only a mother can know. But when she lunged, she lost her balance and while Loke dashed to catch her, he was hit with a powerful attack and vanished, leaving her to fall.

Lucy hit the ground next to a big puddle from a broken glass and used it to summon Aquarius.

The spirit took one look at the man who was trying in vain to hold Yuri against his will and threw the entire restaurant into chaos. Water poured from the doors and windows and Yuri, terrified beyond his own understanding, took a deep breath and let out a little baby dragon's roar. While not deadly or particularly damaging, the wizard holding him was surprised and accidentally dropped him on the floor.

Yuri's human instinct was to be afraid, but he had a whole different set of instincts that seemed to spring to life in an instant. He grabbed the leg of the man who had grabbed him and bit hard with his little fangs through the man's pants, electricity crackling out of his mouth as he growled. He didn't let go when the man shook his leg or even hit him in the head.

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull. Taurus!"

Yuri saw his mother give an awkward but strong kick to one of the attackers as Taurus sprang into action, and with a final headbutt, she threw one the attacker toward Taurus.

Lucy knew she'd used too much of her magic when she suddenly started feeling dizzy. Her eyelids drooped. "Yuri...I…"

She hit the floor, her spirits vanished, and Yuri released his grip and ran to his mother.

He shook her, and yelled, but she didn't move. "Mama...Mama...Mama!"

Yuri ducked next to her at the absolutely deafening sound of lightning. Lightning meant Dad, and Dad was the one who could make everything okay.

Natsu slid through the front door half a second after the restaurant had become silent. "I smelled Aquarius. Lucy wouldn't summon her unless she was...in trouble."

The scent of her most vicious spirit was also the reason Laxus had come.

Laxus was almost paralyzed as he stood there. Lucy was unconscious and had fallen on a broken drinking glass, so when he tried to pick her up, blood oozed out of her arm and back. Yuri had a bad scrape on his elbow, and blood trickling out of his nose and lip where he'd obviously been hit.

Someone really hurt his wife and hit his son.

"Is she okay?"

"I think she used too much magic and passed out. Take Yuri to Porlyusica, will you? And tell Freed to take the Raijinshuu and find out what the fuck just happened."

Natsu nodded. "C'mon big guy, let's go."

Life suddenly caught up with Yuri and he started bawling like a baby, suddenly aware that he'd been terrified, that he'd been hit, and he was bleeding and confused.

Laxus pulled him into a tight hug. "You did good, okay? Go with Natsu."

Once Natsu had taken his little son, Laxus took sixty seconds to give the responsible party a second round of lightning, and whether or not they lived or died was not really anything he cared about.

He picked Lucy up off the floor and took her straight to the hospital.

The dragon slayer wasn't sure if he'd ever been so pissed off about anything in his life, and yet he was also not sure if he'd ever been so worried about anything either. Lucy hadn't been in the field doing jobs in a while, so he didn't understand why she'd be targeted, unless the real target was him. If that was the case, someone, somewhere made some really terrible decisions because he had no problem targeting them right back.

Who wanted to be on his shit list? Nobody.

Literally nobody.

He sat in the waiting room, flinching when he moved because he'd annoyed his own surgical wound by fighting.

If Lucy hadn't been so pregnant, she could have handled that situation easily on her own. He'd cautioned her against leaving the house alone in her state before, but he decided he wouldn't bring it up because she wasn't going to be pregnant again and he planned on watching her like a hawk until the babies were born.

After the doctor came out and talked to him, he went in to see Lucy, who was groggy but awake.

"Yuri...where's our son?" she fearfully asked.

"He's alright. Tough kid. Couple of bruises. He's done worse to himself trying to climb and run and be wild."

Lucy stared up at the ceiling for a minute. "Did the doctor tell you?"

"...That he wants to keep you here until you deliver? That's _annoying_. But we'll have to make it work. I'll bring you some books. I'll bring the kids to come visit every day."

He was more than a little scared, but that really wasn't useful at all. They were two people pretending to be braver than they really were and they knew it.

Lucy squeezed his hand when he took hers. "Our son is brave."

"He breath smelled like blood. Did that little bugger bite somebody?"

"You know it. Spat lightning too. Little dragons are still dragons."

The little dragon's father said, "I kinda like him. I think we should keep him. What do you think?"

Tears started streaming down her face. "I think I felt helpless and stupid."

Laxus gave her a little grin to ease her anxieties. "Babe, in a few weeks, you'll be able to see your feet and then you can use them to kick whatever ass you feel like you need to."

He hated them for making her feel useless.

His wife was a beautiful and fierce woman, and he knew there was nothing worse for Lucy than feeling like she couldn't be who she was, a kickass wizard who could easily defend herself and her family.

Holding her hand really wasn't enough and Lucy groaned and tried her best to shift when he climbed into the bed which he really didn't fit in. She had to lay on her back because her stomach took up almost the whole bed by itself.

The blonde rubbed her belly slowly. "So, you started out the day with genital mutilation, and then got into a fight?"

"I went to the guild in the middle. Fairy Tail is expecting a demon baby. I so want Freed to have a little girl. He'd be good at raising a girl, since he wouldn't have that problem I have about Layla's hair," he said.

His wife sighed. "I don't understand what your problem is. Comb and ponytail. And then suddenly her hair is one big fluff ball and you've broken the elastic and everyone is frustrated."

The dragon slayer was certain he wasn't the only father that had neverending difficulty fixing his daughter's hair, and no matter how many times he watched Lucy, he just didn't have a particularly good touch. His style involved brushing her hair too much until the curls fuzzed up and then asking for help. Layla had long ago reached the age where she knew when her father was making her look bad and had forbidden him from touching her hair.

Laxus said, "Freed also should have a girl so Layla has more girls to play with. I'm tired of all these nasty little boys."

"Our son is the king of the nasty little boys. He climbs, he plays in the dirt, he _still_ eats things that live in the backyard," she answered.

"But also, if Freed and Mirajane have a little girl, I'll have a girl to tease Yuri about. They're going to be over four years apart, so I might have to wait a while, but it'll happen."

His wife scrunched her brows together. "You're planning on how to troll your kid when he is a teenager and planning his fourth birthday party at the same time."

"Bring a parent is very time consuming and requires a great deal of care and consideration."

Lucy made an ugly face at him. "And the alternative future, in which Freed and Mirajane have a son and he becomes our son in law someday and we have demon grandkids?"

"I reject this, and vote we never speak of it again."

The blonde said, "So, we're going to be raising three girls. You're going to have to deal with boys now, and when they're teenagers."

"I'll make a pamphlet called _So You Want to Date a Dreyar Girl_ , and you know what I'll put on the inside?"

"What."

Laxus said, "Corpses of people who died from lightning strikes and the word 'NO,' in big letters."

"That is absurd and childish."

"...and probably effective."

Lucy decided not to argue this with him because he'd been predictably ridiculous when it came to daughters and little boys since Layla was tiny and took a little liking to Iggy and Sam. They were on the subject of the future, and Lucy suddenly came to a grim realization.

"I just realized that we're going to have three girls full of hormones and starting their periods around the same time."

Laxus had brief flashbacks to Mirajane and Erza in their early teen years. "The dread I feel right now is not unlike the feeling I had when I was getting stabbed in the nuts with a needle this morning."

"We'll be okay. Well, I will. You'll probably lose your mind when they decide to defy Daddy and get boyfriends with tattoos and piercings and criminal records."

"I don't think you take the electrocution things seriously enough."

She snuggled up to him. "You're just a big sweetheart anyway. You're not going to hurt anybody for liking any of your daughters."

(He would.)

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	36. The Twins

Lucy filled out the last of her hospital paperwork.

'The day' had arrived and it was a little surreal to know that she was going to go to sleep and would then wake up and have twins. No insanely fast birth as with Yuri, or ridiculously slow and painful, as with Layla. Instead, there would be a longer recovery time according to doctors who didn't know the glorious powers of Wendy.

"How did the interview with the Council go?" she asked.

Her husband rolled his eyes. "They used the words 'heavy-handed,' 'unnecessary,' and 'devastating,' but if some dark guild touches my family, I'm going to touch them right back. It was good to see the Raijinshuu are still so incredibly terrible."

"What did they even want?"

"Attention."

The blonde shook her head. "Well, mission accomplished?"

He shrugged.

"Everything at home is ready?"

Laxus said, "I didn't have time to get cribs, so I was thinking we could just let them rough it on the floor tonight. What do you think? The dryer is really cozy too, it'll give them that in-the-womb experience of being warm in a closed up space. If they need to be rocked, we can just put 'em on the fluff cycle."

"I think you're being a nervous idiot right now. Are you going to go in and watch them be born?"

Her husband shook his head. "I don't think I possess the willpower to watch someone cut you open and not rip their head off their shoulders. I'm a dragonslayer. The smell of blood makes me pretty crazy."

His wife briefly imagined the scene of Laxus going batshit crazy in the middle of surgery and decided to agree with his decision.

"Are the kids here?"

He shook his head. "I told Gramps to bring them in the morning since it's going to be late after the surgery. Plus, it'll give us some time."

Three weeks without Lucy at home was sickeningly bothersome to him. Before he'd become guildmaster and they both came and went on jobs, he had simply acclimated himself to it. The era of guildmaster had been such that they were always together at work or at home and they were always in bed together at night unless he went to a meeting or something.

He'd become very dependent on having her around.

Laxus had also allowed the children to sleep in their bed because he didn't particularly like sleeping alone, and he hoped they understood that wasn't a trend to continue. Layla liked to get in bed and as she fought sleep, talk about weird, random things that made no sense. Her brother liked to jump on the bed and wrestle, so in Lucy's absence he'd wrestle his son down and listen to his daughter's incoherent, tired babblings.

She had likewise been going crazy in the hospital. Their lives were busy and she was used to being busy. She missed the guild, and the paperwork, and being with her babies at home.

Two nurses came and to take her, and he bent down to kiss her one last time.

"See you on the other side?"

She grinned and smiled back. "Can't wait."

Laxus went out into the waiting room where he waited, and waited, and waited, and waited more. He caught the scent of her blood more than once and he had to remind himself that she didn't need him to rescue her.

He felt like it took a lifetime, but finally, a nurse came out. "Mr. Dreyar?"

He nodded.

"Surgery went well. Mom and both babies are perfectly healthy. Are you ready to meet your daughters?"

When he followed the nurse back to the room where he'd last seen Lucy, she was cradling a little pink bundle. She seemed groggy, and had a soft, loving smile.

Laxus picked up the other baby from her little bed and sat down next to her. "Wow…"

"Yeah...wow," she answered in awe.

"You're feeling okay?"

She nodded.

Laxus looked from one baby to the other, and the first thing he noticed was that one of them seemed much too small. The baby in Lucy's arms weighed in at barely four pounds, and was considerably smaller than her six pound sister. "She's okay?"

Lucy nodded. "She's perfectly healthy, just small. This is the feisty one. She was born last. I think this one should be Mavis. Fairies in stories always have ears like this."

He looked down at their baby, and found she was the 'tenant' who had made so much trouble for her mother. Mavis had an unstable static electricity field around her, a patch of dragon scales on one cheek, and was so incredibly tiny. She looked just like Yuri did at birth, except her hair was very light and she had Ivan's pointed ears. She had the oh-so-serious Dreyar eyebrows and a thin upper lip. Her hair was growing up and outward like her brother and father's.

The baby in his arms had darker blond hair, and Lucy's soft features. Like all their kids, she had the Dreyar eyes, but the rest was all Lucy. "So this is Anna? God, we make some gorgeous kids. Four beautiful, healthy babies..."

"Don't we?" she said with a grin.

He bent over to kiss her cheek. "Thank you, Babe."

Lucy was so happy she wasn't pregnant anymore she didn't even know how to express her relief. Her first two pregnancies were mostly normal. Maybe she had an ache or a pain, but with twins, everything had been more difficult. It wasn't really a 'fun' pregnancy, but then again, nine months for two babies was a better deal than eighteen months for two. She liked to think of it as bargain shopping.

Lucy grinned when Mavis made a little sound. "So they have different personalities. Mavis seems really cranky, and Anna is more relaxed. Mavis has been making cranky baby sounds since she was pulled out of me. Anna's just a sweet little snuggly baby. She's barely fussed."

They had apparent differences in looks, in personality, in what they seemed to like and dislike. Anna wanted Mavis to sleep close to her in the same bed. Mavis wanted to wriggle and hated to be swaddled. At one point, they were sleeping together, and Mavis started to fuss and her sister stared at her.

"You can tell Anna's getting fed up with Miss Crankypants," Lucy said.

Laxus nodded and removed Mavis from the little baby bed. "This one is going to be our troublemaker."

Lucy nodded. "I've felt that way since she came out of the womb and shocked the doctor. Anna's going to be my little celestial spirit summoner, so keep your ugly dragon magic away from her. Gramps too."

They spent all night watching their youngest two in between short rests, and in the morning, the door flew open and their two older kids rushed in ahead of their great-grandfather.

"Don't jump on the bed," their father commanded, causing both of them to freeze in place.

Laxus lifted them gently to sit on each side of their mother, who was holding Anna, and pulled up another chair next to the bed to sit next to his grandfather with Mavis.

"These are your baby sisters, Anna and Mavis. They're part of our family now and we're going to love them and take good care of them. You guys are going to be a good brother and good sister, right?" Lucy asked.

Both kids nodded eagerly.

Layla reached out a hand to touch her sister. "They were in your tummy?"

"Just like you were," Lucy said.

Yuri seemed to identify other people more often by scent than anything else, so he snuggled up close and sniffed Anna's hair. "She smells like you, Mama."

Layla said, "Hi babies, I love you. I'm your big sister. We can share my toys. But not my dresses. 'Kay?"

"You wouldn't share your clothes with your baby sisters?" Makarov asked, surprised by her declaration as she'd clearly thought it out in advance.

"Not dresses. I would share my socks."

Laxus looked up at his wife. "Still not as bad as our other child who told us not have any more male offspring."

Lucy looked down at their son. "Yuri, are you sad you don't have a little brother?"

"No."

Yuri's short, insistent answers on this subject made it one of the most amusing things about his upbringing so far. Neither of his parents even knew when or how he'd come to the conclusion he needed to be the only boy in their family, but he'd been consistent on the subject. What made it an even more curious point was the fact that he loved to be around other little boys. He just didn't want any in his family.

He was starting to demonstrate possessive tendencies toward the females of the family, including his mother, which was probably due to his dragon blood. Possessive creatures don't really share well, and Lucy secretly believed the reason Yuri didn't want a brother was because he didn't want to 'share' his sisters or mother with another male besides his father.

On the other hand, they had their toddler daughter, who laid down the rules and let her newborn sisters know she'd share practically anything except her dresses. Lucy could come up with no logical rationalization for this. Layla was just being a little girl and although she clearly loved her little sisters, she felt the need to let them know there were going to be some boundaries.

XXX

A week later happened to be the annual meeting of the local guild league, and all the other guildmasters watched in agitation as Laxus' eyelids drooped, as if bored, and then closed. He slept, then drooled, then snored while Goldmine was making a report of local guild issues, including rumors of different dark guilds cropping up here and there.

They were meeting in Magnolia in a private room at a restaurant, which made it easier for Laxus who hadn't really wanted to go all the way to Clover. As luck would have it, Natsu had just come back from a mission in Clover and their usual meeting place was still ashy rubble.

Goldmine threw a pen across the table at him and it hit him squarely on his forehead. "Am I boring you?"

"Sorry, no…" he quickly said as he sat up and rubbed his face.

"Then why are you sleeping?" the old man asked.

Laxus yawned. "Because newborns are noisy and difficult to please."

"Sound like women," Goldmine chuckled

"Tiny women are still women," the dragonslayer answered.

Master Bob perked up, "You had another baby? I heard you had a son a few years ago."

"I have four. A boy and three girls. The youngest two are one-week-old twins."

Bob grinned. "Four kids? Aren't you all grown up! I remember changing your diapers."

"Well, that's the most disturbing thought I've had all day."

These were not only his associates as fellow guildmasters, but these were people he'd grown up knowing and his grandfather's friends. Some of them were also former members of Fairy Tail, and they were far more interested in the Dreyar babies than what they'd come to discuss.

After the meeting, Goldmine and Master Bob more or less followed him home because they supposedly wanted to see Makarov, which made Laxus wonder why the three of them hadn't just arranged to meet. He was really too tired to try to avoid them and if they wanted to annoy his grandfather, he didn't really mind.

"Babe, we've got company," he called upstairs, "Goldmine and Master Bob."

Goldmine asked, "You gotta warn her we're here?"

Laxus nodded. "Haven't you been married like eight times? I kind of assume you should know how a wife operates. You show up with company and they catch her in a nightgown with unkempt hair? End of the world."

"And divorced nine times," Goldmine answered.

"I don't even want to know."

Makarov came sliding down the stair rail with one of the newborns on his shoulder. "Welcome, my old friends. Team Makarov! Look at what cute babies my grandson and his beautiful wife make." He covered his mouth but loudly whispered, "They're cute because they take after their mother. She's a real hottie!"

"Lucy will tear your head off and beat you with it if she sees you slide down the rail with a baby," his grandson warned.

The old man shrugged and went back upstairs for the other baby after he handed Anna off to Goldmine and the old men spent time cooing over the newborns and catching up. Laxus sat with them because they were business associates and because he vaguely remembered having each of them babysit him and was slightly nervous they had his babies.

The back door swung open and the older kids came running through the house ahead of Chelia, and came to a dead stop in the living room because there were strangers there.

Layla ran behind the corner to peek out at them, and Yuri looked from Goldmine to Master Bob and then spent quite a while staring at the latter, as if deeply confused.

Laxus gestured for Layla to come out of hiding and she ran straight to him and jumped in his lap. "These are my older kids. Layla and Yuri. Kids, these are Gams' friends, Master Bob and Goldmine."

Goldmine smiled at Layla. "You are a cute kid."

She responded by hiding her face against her father's chest.

Yuri continued to stare at Master Bob, but cautiously stepped forward and shook hands very properly with each of the men. "Nice to meet you."

Master Bob grabbed him and lifted him off the ground, hugging him tightly. "Oh, he's so handsome and cute I just want to kidnap him and take him home with me and eat him alive. Come sit on my lap."

Yuri was uncomfortable and fidgety, and jumped down immediately.

"Are you a boy?" he bluntly asked.

Laxus pinched the bridge of his nose. "I knew this was going to happen."

Master Bob was quite amused at the boy's confusion. "Your daddy didn't teach you that some boys like to dress like girls?"

"No?"

"Well, it's a lot of fun. It makes me happy, so that's what I do. Haven't you ever wanted to wear Mommy's lipstick?"

Yuri shook his head.

Makarov said, "He's a man's man."

Master Bob whipped out a tube of lipstick. "You want to try?"

Laxus gave him a sharp jolt as a little bolt of lightning melted the lipstick in his hand. "This is how people get hurt."

Yuri walked backwards, slowly, and tapped his sister on the foot. "Let's go play upstairs."

Layla slid off her father's lap and the two ran upstairs, as if escaping from the strangers. Goldmine watched them and asked, "What was that?"

Makarov answered, "Yuri is fiercely protective of his sisters. He thinks Bob is a creep and doesn't want to leave Layla with him."

"What a shame. He'd be an excellent candidate for Blue Pegasus. We like our men handsome, you know," Master Bob said.

"Tough shit, Bob. Yuri's been a member of Fairy Tail since before he could speak," Makarov answered.

"Maky, did you mark him when he was a baby?"

Makarov nodded. "I'd get Layla too, but I don't have the guild stamp anymore. I went looking for it, but for some reason that new asshole that runs the guild hid it."

Laxus answered, "That reason would be you. Besides, you don't do the work."

"I have health problems. I was forced into retirement. It's been hard for me, sleeping in whenever I want, taking afternoon naps, eating food your wife and the nanny cook for me, and playing with my great grandbabies all day. Somehow, I'm surviving."

His grandson rolled his eyes. "I've been had."

"Sad it took you that long to figure it out. Maky is living it up," Goldmine said.

Lucy came downstairs after a few minutes, dressed and freshly showered. Like her husband and every other adult in the house, she was clearly tired.

These were their professional contacts and associates, but as soon as she sat down with them, she realized they were more like awkward family members to Laxus, who treated them the way a person treats their 'weird uncle' at family reunions.

She came wielding books and ledgers. "Let's talk business. I read the agenda for today's meeting, but I wanted to bring a couple of additional subjects to your attention. First and foremost, the Black Fox activity in the northern area of our league's region is very disturbing, but I managed to have some reports sent in and I have a map with some points of interest so… _are you holding my newborn daughter with dirt under your fingernails?_ "

Goldmine was impressed, and then intimidated by her venomous glare as she stole Anna from him.

"Go wash your hands, you gross old geezer."

Laxus smirked a little as the old man withered under her scolding and politely ran to the kitchen to wash his hands.

He came back and Lucy, balancing a newborn on one shoulder, said, "If we take a look at all the points of activity, we can assume their guild is located somewhere in the center. I believe the dark guild is headquartered somewhere around Dandelion."

The baby started to fuss, and she paced back and forth while she delivered her thoughts on their dues and fees, and presented a plan to have training exercises between the guilds three times per year.

Lucy was a smart, ambitious, and well-organized woman, and when she finished talking business, she left Anna with her husband and prepared to leave them to go make dinner.

Master Bob put a hand on his cheek. "What a woman! You look amazing for someone who just had twins too."

The blonde smiled and waved off the compliment. "Oh thanks!"

Laxus grinned at her, and she quickly turned and went on to the kitchen.

Makarov said, "My granddaughter-in-law is the best. She's the most powerful celestial spirit summoner in the world, she can handle all the guild accounting and legal crap, she's a great organizer with fantastic ideas, she's a great cook, she's a perfect mother and a good wife, and she's that good looking. God knows how the hell Laxus scored someone so out of his league."

"Magic. Not just for turning children into giants and putting a huge crack in the side of my new house like I won't notice," Laxus answered.

The old man squirmed a little nervously at the idea his grandson had noticed. "You're no fun."

Mavis started to fuss and Makarov cradled her and said, "Look, look. See this one? She looks more like Daddy than any of the kids. When she gets pissed, she makes the same agitated, constipated, cranky look as her Daddy."

Mavis' thin little lips were turned down into an identical scowl as her father as the men compared them and then started laughing.

"Oh you poor thing, if only you could inherit your mother's temperament," Bob said.

Makarov snorted. "Ha. We'd really be in trouble then. Lucy's a real spitfire. Laxus is the sulky sarcastic type, but his wife...have mercy on your soul when you get on her bad side. She'll let you know real quick when she's pissed."

Goldmine touched her pointed ears. "She's got ears like Ivan. Speaking of which, have you heard anything about him recently?"

Laxus watched his grandfather's expression fall and answered for him. "He died. It was right around the time Gramps retired."

He didn't offer any additional information because his grandfather clearly hadn't shared that information freely with them. It was easy to see it was still a painful subject for Makarov, even over a year later. Then again, the dragon slayer didn't know how long it would take everything to 'be okay' if anything ever happened to one of his kids.

Both of the men offered apologies and condolences.

They had a fairly productive and pleasant dinner together, although Lucy couldn't figure out why her son seemed terrified of Master Bob. Yuri was suspicious of him, and watched his every move. Yuri didn't know whether or not Bob was joking about wanting to kidnap him and eat him.

Once everyone was gone, while Chelia helped Lucy get all the kids cleaned and in bed, Laxus was cleaning up in the kitchen when Makarov came down to help him.

"Do you miss your father at all?" Makarov asked.

His grandson shook his head once. "He wasn't around enough for me to miss."

"Was that all his fault?"

"When I was young, it was his choice. When I grew up, it was mine."

Dishes clattered as he stacked them in the sink, and Virgo appeared.

"The princess asked me to assist." She spun around the room once, and it was sparkling clean and where it belonged. "Anything else?"

Laxus looked around. "Looks good. Thanks."

Virgo bowed politely and excused herself.

Makarov headed up the stairs with him after the doors were locked and lights were turned out. "I always hoped he'd get it together. When you were little, I always told myself I was looking after you until Ivan realized how important and precious his son was. You know, I don't know if he ever did. Even at the end, of course people are sorry for all the stuff they fucked up."

Laxus answered, "I used to tell myself I was only staying with you until my dad came to get me. I'm not sorry he didn't. Things turned out the right way, I think. I don't think he cared about being a father or a son. And I don't think he's worth being down over, Gramps. He made his choices, and we made ours."

When they got upstairs, Lucy was reading the older kids a story, and Chelia was in the nursery but as was the new normal, the twins were giving her fits about sleeping. Laxus showered and put on pajamas, then sent the women to bed and stayed up almost the entire night with the babies. It was a little complicated trying to breastfeed two babies at once, so he tried really hard to keep them content so Lucy could sleep at night since she had the babies most of the day for the time being.

Raising a big family was actually very hard work, especially with all their kids so close in age, but they'd decided it was better this way as they'd all be close enough in age they'd be going through some of the same things at the same time.

He managed to get a short nap in between four and six in the morning, and by then, the twins were sound asleep. Laxus crept downstairs and found his son sitting with Raijin in the living room, eating Cheerios. He had dressed himself in some shorts and a shirt, but was barefoot as he only wore shoes when forced.

He inherited this from his father, who was also barefoot in pajama pants and a muscle shirt.

"Son, one of these days, you're going to get a cut or a scrape and instead of blood coming out, it's going to be Cheerios."

Yuri stood up and followed him to the kitchen. "Good morning, Daddy."

"'Morning, Son. You're up ridiculously early, as always. It amazes me that you wake up at six every morning with no encouragement, but it's like pulling teeth to get your sister out of bed at nine. If I could just combine your sleeping habits, we'd be all right," he said.

Yuri climbed up on the counter while his father made some coffee. "How's the babies?"

"Good."

"How come they cry so much?"

"Because they're babies. You know, you were kind of terrible when you were first born. You screamed constantly and kept your mother and I up all the time."

His son thoughtfully answered, "Maybe I needed you lots and lots."

Laxus ruffled his hair. "Sometimes, your sisters are just going to really need their big brother. You're a really important person to them. They'll look up to you and rely on you, so you have to set a good example and look out for them."

"I'll be a good brother, I promise."

They talked while the coffee brewed and his son asked him questions about the visitors they had the night before. Yuri was relieved to find out that Master Bob actually didn't want to eat him.

"You start school in nine weeks. Are you ready?" Laxus asked as he poured coffee in his cup.

He nodded eagerly. "I can't wait. Can I have coffee now? I'm almost a grownup already."

Laxus offered him the coffee cup and Yuri took a sip and promptly spat it out.

"Ewww! Dad, that's gross!"

He grinned at him. "Coffee is more of a grownup drink."

"Like beer?"

"Beer is _definitely_ a grownup drink," his father answered as he gave his son a little cup of chocolate milk.

Laxus ate some toast while he and his son had their usual early-morning father-son time, and when he'd finished, he said, "Come with me."

They went out in the backyard, and Laxus walked to a grassy patch in the middle of the yard.

"What are we doing, Daddy?"

Laxus said, "Let's stretch first. Do what I do."

Yuri was so excited and curious, because his father seemed excited too. He did his best to follow along and do what his father did, albeit with a little difficulty.

When they finished stretching, Laxus took a fighting stance. "Okay, try to stand like this."

He tried, but Laxus had to correct nearly everything about the way he was standing. And then once he did something else, it was hard to remember exactly how he'd been before. But he was big for his age, and had the benefit of dragon coordination, so he managed eventually to return to the stance.

Yuri had no idea, but his parents had a long and somewhat difficult discussion about this subject. Their kids were in danger because they were the babies of the guildmaster of the most powerful guild in Fiore. They were also in danger because they were all had enormous potential as wizards as the children of two powerful wizards.

They really didn't know what any of them might do as adults. Lucy pointed out one or all of them might choose some other vocation. Maybe Yuri would grow up and decide he _did_ prefer building things than breaking them, but as long as he was their son and he had magic power that was worth abusing, he needed some way to defend himself and ignoring this because it was inconvenient wasn't going to help him at all.

They'd decided to teach all of them how to fight just in case the day ever came when they needed to know. Yuri was at present the only one that had the coordination to start learning, so that's where they started.

And truthfully, Laxus had been looking forward to this day since he found out he was going to have a son. Yuri was excited too because for as long as he could remember, he'd wanted to be like his dad. At the fight in the restaurant, he watched his father fight for the first time and he'd never been so in awe of anything in his life.

His father was tired from babies and work, but getting to teach his son how to fight and use lightning magic was infinitely rewarding. Father and son were both excited about this new chapter in their relationship.

At the end of the lesson, Laxus tickled his son until he collapsed in the grass, laughing.

Yuri's dragon blood had surged during the sparring match, and as he laid there on his back, trying to catch his breath, he experienced a certain dragon phenomena for the first time.

"I'm really hungry."

"You want more cereal?"

"I want _meat_."

"C'mon little dragon. I'll fix you something."

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	37. The Preschool Dragon

Laxus always remembered it as being one of her cutest moments.

He was eating a piece of leftover birthday cake while she stood in front of an ironing board she'd opened in the kitchen, sniffling while she ironed their beloved son's little khaki school pants. Her bottom lip puffed out a bit in a pout, because they were on the verge of one of parenting's biggest milestones.

This was the night before Yuri's first day of preschool.

Time seemed to have flown by in an instant.

In one memory, he asked her out on a date, and then they sat on the floor a few months later and talked about the future. She could remember him asking if she wanted to have babies with a weird excited sense of nervousness on his face. Then they were married and they got pregnant the first time they tried. It was such an exhilarating time for them, being newlyweds and expecting their first baby together.

"You've ironed those pants _three times_ , Babe. Wrinkles pretty much top the list of things four-year-old boys don't give a shit about," he said with a little grin.

Lucy's gave him a sulking glower and picked up the iron. "You better stop teasing me or I'll iron you three times."

Laxus put his hand on the bottom of the iron. "Not really a problem for a dragon slayer."

"Depends on where I use it…" and then under her breath, "it'll look like a fried popsicle stick when I get through with you."

Laxus had been teasing her, but only because she was so cute. "Speaking of which, I want sex. It's been a lifetime. Actually, two if you want to get technical. Your doctor's excuse ended today."

"Subtle _and_ charming. And so unexpected, after you've literally spent your entire day circling me like a shark."

"I am the opposite of a shark."

"Oh?"

He smirked. "A shark gets more active when he smells blood. I leave and jerk off."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "That may be the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me. You should start your own line of greeting cards. And you don't leave when you self-serve. Half the time that stuff ends up somewhere on my body."

"It heightens the experience."

"It's a terrible thing to wake up to," she complained.

Her husband teased, "I just assume you get bored with a good morning kiss. Besides, it was just that one time that you were asleep, and it was your fault. I was close to the edge and you rolled over and moaned my name in your sleep. I apologized and you still punched me in the stomach."

"You're so gross. Ugh."

With a playful smirk, he said, "So what do you say? Gramps said he'd watch the babies tonight."

"Great. I can catch up on my sleep."

"You can catch up on your wifely duties and maybe I'll let you sleep after you finish."

The thing about Laxus was this:

He was _amazing_. As much as she wanted to be reluctant or sarcastic, she knew she was going to go along with him anyway because after six years of having sex with her, he knew how to make her orgasm so hard she'd be left shaking. And then he'd do it again. He was big, he was rough, and he liked to bite, but she couldn't resist him.

Lucy still couldn't say no to the feeling of those big callused hands on her, and honestly she hadn't ever really wanted to.

Her mind shifted back to reality. "Let me just double check Yuri's school supplies and make sure I have all the ingredients for his lu-"

Over the shoulder she went, and Lucy squealed, "Put me down you big ogre!"

"Woman, I'll never let you go. You're mines," he declared as he hauled her up the stairs.

XXX

Lucy woke up to get her son ready for his first day at school, and the first thing she did was groan because she was sore. She still wasn't sure if it was because her leg wasn't supposed to bend _that way_ or because her husband weighed two hundred and twenty pounds and liked to be on top.

She was wearing nothing but a pair of black stilettos, and her red lip gloss was smeared all over Laxus as he lay there snoring. She looked down at a hickey on her belly, which was taking its time to 'normalize.' For the first six weeks, she had described her belly as 'a deflated beach ball laid across a stack of flat tires.'

It was kind of sweet how he'd kiss along her C-Section scar though...

Their comforter was on the floor, her panties had been thrown on the dresser, her matching black lace bra was ribbons on the floor, and he was smiling in his sleep.

She smirked. "You talk a big game, but you can't handle me, boy."

His snore stopped and the corner of his mouth turned up. "Does Pussycat want more milk?"

Lucy shrugged. "Tasted a little...sterile."

"I can go get it fixed and you'll be knocked up with a litter by Friday."

"That's okay. Sterile is tasty, now that I think of it. Pussycat needs a shower. So do you. Your grandfather is probably exhausted too."

The Dreyar twins?

They'd had their most peaceful evening ever.

Makarov had eagerly agreed to watch them overnight so the exhausted parents could sleep, but when he went to get a blanket from the hall closet, he heard rhythmic banging sounds, growling, and wild-sounding moans. He knew he'd been bamboozled, so he did what any reasonable babysitter would do:

He cast a hibernation spell on them and went to sleep, awakening him at his own discretion so they could suckle breast milk from bottles and be changed. Makarov suspected the parents weren't going to notice as they were _busy_.

Although Laxus probably knew such things were harmless (although he had no memories of hibernating as a baby), he suspected the mama bear would boil him alive if she ever found out.

By the time the parents emerged from the room at six in the morning, the babies had successfully emerged from their slumber and Mavis Dreyar, somewhere in her tiny mind, felt happy and well-rested, having _not_ screamed half the night as was her custom. This would not stop future scream-a-thons, as those were her right as a newborn, but at least for this morning, she was happy.

Laxus came through first, kissing the babies. "Looks like you three had a peaceful night."

"Piece of cake. Experience, you know."

Anna was a snuggler, and she prepared as much contact as possible. She was oddly almost polite in her ways. When she yelled, it usually wasn't loud or shrill or anxious. Anna loved Daddy snuggles more than anything.

Mavis was a grabber, and her little hands always clenched whatever was available. She had a slightly gravelly dragon shriek that put even Yuri's to shame. She also ate quite a lot, but hadn't really grown very much since she was born.

When Laxus put Anna down, he picked up the tiny, ill-tempered baby of the family, and she growled. "Good morning, my little hellbeast."

Makarov said, "Her mother will punch you in the skull if she hears you call her that."

"Her mother will kick your ass so hard your tailbone comes out of your left nostril if she finds out you've been putting her babies to sleep with magic," he answered.

Both men, among the most powerful wizards in the entire world, realized that nothing was more terrifying than Lucy as a pissed off mother. When it came to her babies, she was a force to be reckoned with that neither Laxus nor Makarov would dare to cross.

Makarov asked, "How come she isn't growing? She eats like a horse."

Laxus said, "The doctor said she's perfectly healthy and that she might have inherited short stature from a relative. I've been trying to think if there's anyone who is absurdly short in our family, but I think of anyone important."

"Very funny."

"Anyway, it's fine, right? I don't think the world could handle a full-sized Mavis Dreyar."

Makarov wasn't sure when Laxus was a teenager if he'd ever really be able to love a woman properly because of how he was raised, but as fate would have it, he was surrounded by girls. He adored them, both wife and daughters, and spoiled them all. The old man was sure as soon as the twins learned how to ask, they'd be just as spoiled as their older sister.

The door to the nursery opened, and a wide-eyed four-year-old came in. "It's time for school?"

Laxus looked up at the clock. "It's six in the morning, son. And you're wearing pajamas."

"Can we fight?"

"After school. I can't get you sweaty and dirty before school."

The boy's father really had no idea what kind of person Yuri was going to grow up to be. He was a perfectly nice and good-natured little boy, but since the first time they sparred, the first thing he wanted to do every morning was roll out of bed and start a fight. Some mornings, he didn't necessarily wait for his father to wake up, and Laxus had to _kindly_ teach him it's not polite to wake someone up by punching them in the thigh and shouting 'good morning!'

(Especially when that someone had baby twins and hadn't really slept much to start with.)

Yuri reached through the bars of the crib for Anna's hand, smiling a bit when she squeezed his finger. "Layla's not ready to get out of bed. And she doesn't want to fight either."

Laxus sighed and his grandfather chuckled at this comment, knowing that when his groggy morning-hating sister finally did get out of bed, she would probably still be pissed. Then again, what woman ever liked to be roughly awoken by a boy who wants to wrestle?

 _Lucy probably_ , Makarov noted in amusement.

Laxus carried Mavis downstairs and they found Lucy making a big breakfast.

Yuri sat at the table in his pajamas drinking chocolate milk while she rambled on about subjects that were important to her as a mother of a school-age boy: the benefits of eating a proper breakfast, doing homework in a timely manner, socializing with others, dealing with bullies, communicating with teachers, remembering to keep shoes tied, _not_ scratching his private parts in front of others, not telling anyone his father electrocuted him when he misbehaved, not fighting, not being scared of girls, etc.,

Unfortunately, this all came out together in one long, rambling lecture that the boy disregarded in its entirety because he didn't understand and it wasn't properly articulated for intellectual digestion by a four-year-old boy.

Halfway through breakfast, Layla made her way down and climbed silently onto the chair with her booster seat, blonde hair matted and fluffed on one side of her head, eyes puffy, eyes slightly crusted with a positively despondent expression on her face.

Lucy wiped her eyes and face. "Layla, you're coming up on three. You've been waking up for almost a thousand days, so I feel like you should be able to get out of bed without acting like it's a traumatic experience."

"I'm tired," she whined.

"How come you don't go back to sleep?" Yuri asked.

"I don't wanna!"

After food, kids were dressed, teeth and hair brushed, and prepared for the day.

Lucy helped her son put on his neat-pressed school uniform: khaki pants, a white shirt, and a blue sweater vest that matched his eyes. They'd enrolled him in a private school after a number of long discussions about education. She knew Laxus was a little dubious about this, but he couldn't deny that having a good education had helped Lucy accomplish so much.

Education was a big issue for her, not just for their kids, but for the guild too. Wizards were pretty much notorious for quitting school to do magic work, but this led to dismal literacy levels and adults who could do amazing things with magic but couldn't do basic math to pay bills or manage their money. They were reviewing possibly using their windfall Lucy helped the guild get to build a dorm for the younger wizards where they could live for free as long as they went to school.

There had been occasional late-night talk about making a special school, but at present, that was just something husband and wife discussed at 4 am while trying to feed two infants, one of which would only breastfeed on one side, for whatever reason.

Once Yuri was dressed, Lucy packed his lunch in his little red backpack, which was full of school supplies.

Layla was playing magic in the living room with Makarov, who successfully distracted her while her brother prepared to leave. Yuri and Layla had always been together, so it was generally assumed that Lucy wasn't the only blonde that might be pining over Yuri's absence.

Laxus and Lucy stepped out with him, and Lucy said, "Your backpack is heavy. You want Mama to carry it?"

"I'm really strong, Mama," he said.

Lucy knew he was right. The little dragon could do incredible things when he wanted to, like scoot furniture around and climb and run.

Yuri walked between his parents, holding each of their hands. "When will it be over?"

"At three in the afternoon. That's after lunch. You'll learn, play outside, do crafts, eat, take a nap, and probably learn more. Then we'll come get you and we'll go home," Lucy said.

When they got to the steps of the school, Yuri felt sudden anxiety when he noticed that other kids were crying hysterically and clinging to equally weepy mothers. He looked up at his parents; Dad seemed calm, Mama seemed a bit teary.

Lucy smiled at her son. "It's okay. You're going to have a good day today."

They walked him to his classroom and checked him in, gave him hugs and best wishes, and watched him go sit in a circle with the other kids, which he was absurdly larger than. His class was half boys and girls, and he picked a safe girl-free spot to sit as he nervously looked from one stranger to another.

After they left and were walking back toward home, Laxus heard his wife sniffle and held her hand. "He'll be fine."

"He's going to be gone _all day_ , Laxus. With strangers."

"I'm not the one that signed him up for the whole-day program. There is a half-day program, right?"

"Oh hush. I'm sorry I want our son to have a whole education, and not just half of one."

Her husband rolled his eyes. "Half an education would give him twice as much as most wizards. That's a thirty percent benefit or something."

"...and that's why education is really important."

They stopped at a diner to have breakfast, as they'd fed everyone except themselves thus far, and they trusted Makarov and Chelia could handle the little ones for another hour. Within their own relationship, they were still basking in the glow of the prior evening and were in the mood to be a bit sweet on each other, although Lucy suspected her husband would ruin it eventually.

Laxus peered at her over his menu. "I'm going to hand the S-Class trials to Gildarts next summer."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to put your name on the list. You're qualified. Even if you're not going on jobs, you're still a powerful wizard."

For a minute, she felt a little blank, because when the guild transition took place, catching up on everything and babies suddenly became the big things going on. She'd been studying magic in her free time and up until the end of her pregnancy, training with some of the younger wizards.

Lucy felt confident she could pass the trial, she just hadn't expected it. "A-Are you sure?"

"Gramps wanted you to take it when Natsu and Gray made S-Class, but you were nine months pregnant with Yuri. And then the next year, you were pregnant with Layla. Then we didn't have exams, then...pregnant again," he said.

It was an irksome though, but Lucy loved her family and she was glad they'd had all their kids and were done with that part of their marriage.

His wife smiled a bit. "I really wanted that, you know."

"You deserve it. And since I'm snipped, you better not be pregnant come June or the S-Class exams are going to be the least of your worries," he teased.

She answered, "Layla thinks I should have some multicultural babies."

"That's terrible."

"She says someday she wants to have a lot of babies that look different."

"That's even worse."

The blonde grinned at him. "You're such a cute Daddy."

"You too, overprotective, clingy Mama, about to sob like a baby because her little boy went to school."

Lucy kicked him under the table. "Why do I love you?"

"Because females are highly irrational. Layla doesn't have a thread of logic anywhere in her being. I think every woman, from birth, is just a little bit crazy," he said.

"Brave words for a man who lives in a house full of women."

The waiter came and they ordered, and once he was gone, Laxus rested his head on his hand. "Sugar and spice and everything nice, right? Our family seems a little extra spicy. But here's a theory: in the womb, Anna got all the sugar, and Mavis got all the spice."

They had a nice breakfast together and parted ways at an intersection where he headed to the guild and she went home to work on her proposals for the guild and look after their daughters.

Except, she was so excited she didn't really want to do her 'homework.'

If only there was someone she could practice with so she could help her body get into testing shape by the next summer...

It wasn't like one of the greatest wizards in the whole world had retired and lived in their house or anything.

Layla, who was grieving the absence of her brother, sat quietly with her doll and watched her mother and great grandfather spar in the yard. She'd seen her brother and father do this before, but it was different seeing how strong Mama actually was. She saw her grandfather's light magic, and it stirred her own magic within her, like a thunderstorm riled up her older brother.

She saw a glimpse of something so amazing to her she could just watch.

"Go Mama!" she cheered even though her great grandfather looked quite a bit stronger. "Get him!"

Makarov was a little offended that she was so enthusiastic about her mother defeating him as Layla was _the favorite_ even if he'd never admit it. But what little girl didn't look up to their mother?

At the guild, Laxus was approving job requests in Mirajane's absence, as demon babies evidently caused horrific nausea. He'd stamped two more newcomers that morning, both of them just kids, and looked around to note that a huge percentage of the guild's members were just kids, so it was almost appropriate the guild more or less had a mommy and a daddy in recent days.

Lucy suggested dividing the jobs and the wizards into three categories: J-Class for the junior wizards, A-Class for grown folks, and S-Class for the elite as always. Most of the guild's jobs were quick and simple and it made sense to reserve the easiest jobs for the least skilled wizards. It was annoying, for instance, for Nab to do tasks a twelve-year-old could do while the twelve-year-old in turn tried to take harder jobs to pay pay bills and eat.

He was reviewing the jobs when he felt a tug on his pants and looked down to find Iggy Dragneel.

"Good morning, Master."

"Good morning."

"Where's Layla?"

"I don't answer to you. You're two."

He was disappointed with this, but asked, "She's my friend. Can we play?"

Laxus bent down and asked, "You want to go to my house and play with my kid?"

"Pretty please?"

In an alternate universe where Yuri and Layla were not opposite gender, Iggy would have been his favorite non-Dreyar baby. It was actually hard even for him not to laugh at him, because his personality was 98% sweet and meek and 2% utter chaos. He was extremely polite, but at the same time, enjoyed finding trouble to get into.

Sam Redfox had taken a little too much after his father, and often responded to questions with 'Tch!' He acted like he was very tough and very grownup most of the time, but was actually a pretty big crybaby. He crossed his arms a lot, and rolled his eyes, and generally just acted like Gajeel. Levy could see no wrong in him, so he was a bit of a bully, especially toward Iggy.

Laxus felt like they were going to have an encounter someday and fight it out as little boys often did. His money was on the little fireball. Somewhere in that little creature was his father's temper.

In this universe, he was a boy asking for his daughter's attention, however politely.

"No."

Iggy's features fell in disappointment. "Okay," he sadly said.

The boy seemed distraught as he went back to playing by himself, ignoring Sam Redfox as if he didn't exist. And he watched it play out: Lisanna saw her son was upset and went to talk to him, and he told her the source of his sadness, and she looked up at Laxus with an expression that said, 'why don't you crawl in a hole and die, you big jerk?'

She came toward him, and he cringed.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well...what?"

Lisanna stepped on his foot and leaned forward. "What is your problem?"

Laxus leaned back. "Your son is lonely. Do what we do. Have more kids."

"You're an idiot, Master. I'm taking the rest of the afternoon off. I have an old friend to catch up with. She recently had twins."

This was what could be called winning the battle but losing the war because while Laxus was able to deny the little boy, he ended up having to work harder because Lisanna left and took her son to his house. In other words, not only did Iggy get his play date, but Laxus had to do more work because of it.

He found himself busy until it was time to go pick up his son for school, and when he walked up the steps to the school and then to his son's classroom, he found his son absolutely _surrounded_ by little girls. He looked a little nervous, but not terrified.

The teacher was over the moon for Yuri.

"Your son is such a good little boy. He told one of the other boys not to be mean to the girls, and he helped clean up, and he's such a good listener. He's so helpful and smart and a perfect little gentleman. You must be so proud of him!"

This was not surprising to Laxus, as every old woman ever seemed to absolutely adore Yuri.

Yuri jumped up from the floor holding his macaroni art. "Daddy!"

He leapt, and Laxus caught him and held him at his side. "You had a good day?"

The teacher handed him the boy's backpack, and Yuri nodded. "I had lots of fun."

"Looks like you made friends."

"Yeah!"

On the way home, Laxus carried his son, who told him all about everything that happened during the day. It sounded like he'd had a number of misadventures involving girls but figured out eventually that 'a girl' was actually a series of references to events involving one single girl named Lilia to whom Yuri had taken a liking to for unknown reasons.

"...and then I tasted a girl's hair, and she got mad. She pushed me and called me a 'stupid boy.'"

Laxus put his son down on the sidewalk, knelt, and asked, "Did you just say you _tasted a girl's hair_?"

"It smelled like strawberries. She was mad, Daddy!"

To males as a whole, the line between attraction to food and females was a little overlapped. In dragons, both senses were sharper, so somehow along the way, wires crossed in Yuri's little mind caused him to acknowledge that because a girl was pretty and she smelled good, he should taste her.

"Little dragon, you have to realize you're not like the other kids. Sniffing and tasting is really, really unacceptable and creepy behavior."

"Oh, that's why she was mad," he said, disappointed, "can she still be my friend?"

Laxus shrugged. "Probably if you apologize and don't act like a weirdo. Was she cute?"

"Her hair was soft."

"Don't sniff, taste, or feel. Geeze. What color was it?"

"That's not funny," his colorblind son replied.

"Right, sorry. I forgot."

Dragon males had boundary issues as a whole when it came to females without any exceptions. So Yuri finally encountered a girl he thought was at least a little cute and spent his entire day annoying her to death doing things that would bother any right-minded four-year-old girl.

He was certain there was 'a girl' who was telling her parents about some terrible little disgusting boy who irritated her all day while they tried to explain that little boys just didn't know how to act.

Laxus also learned his son didn't get along particularly well with one of the boys in his class who had been the de facto 'boss' of the neighborhood social order of preschoolers. Yuri had alpha male behaviors ingrained in him so this led to assorted problems as hell would freeze over before his son took orders from another little boy. Yuri was a nice boy, but he had a certain way about him.

When they got home, Yuri presented his art to his mother, and while she fed him a snack, Yuri told her all about his day, but _completely_ omitted any reference to 'a girl' as he spoke with Lucy and Lisanna. This was absolutely fascinating to his father.

Layla, having seen Lucy and Makarov brawling most of the day, had in turn completely manhandled Iggy Dragneel throughout the afternoon. When Laxus found them in the playroom, Layla had her elbow in Iggy's stomach.

"...girls can beat up boys too…" she said.

Iggy was seven months younger than her, but as a dragon, was a bit bigger. He didn't fight her, but seemed confused and bewildered. "Please stop."

Laxus shook his head. "You asked for it, Iggy."

He didn't know what had gotten into his daughter, but kids were kids. It Layla wanted to rough up little boys, he wouldn't have to do it for her.

Makarov came limping through, holding his stomach.

"What happened to you?"

The old man said, "Your wife dug her elbow into my liver."

The father was now amused by this situation, where his wife bruised his grandfather, his daughter saw, and turned and decided it would be fun to hurt little boys.

Maybe he'd won the war after all, he decided.

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _Special thanks to Megumiyoung, thealicehuntt, swallowmysoul, thunderbabyfan, adabs18, satisfied reader, kurahieiritr JIO, 17, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, katieboom, newhee89, katiekat2001, savygirl515, xxShyxx, Thornado, lunastarlady, and lovelylovelylove for reviewing!_

 _AN: But FF, why are you only updating this story and not the other one?! Well kids, I'm having a crappy holiday season and this story makes me feel all happy and yay._


	38. The Girls a Dragon Likes

Makarov considered this his best year.

Yuri was in the school, and the babies were little, so he spent his days with his precious great-granddaughter. She learned about magic, and they talked about the world. Layla was a wildly curious girl, caught somewhere between what she thought she was supposed to be and what she actually wanted to be.

The more she learned about magic, the more she wanted to know and the less she reached for the dolls and the things she clung to for comfort. She was shy around strangers and apprehensive about unfamiliar things, but magic had a way of helping people find ways to deal with such things.

Layla had an enormous amount of magic in her body, and in all likelihood, it would have either made her physically ill or killed her if she hadn't inherited big magic from both sides of the family. All of his grandson's kids had extreme potential as wizards, and he shuddered to imagine what kind of monsters they'd grow into.

Then again, the world could use more powerful women. Magic was still mostly a man's game, with just a handful of women in the upper echelon, but even this one single family had the ability to change that.

This led to this morning:

Lucy had taken Yuri to school, and Laxus was getting the twins situated for their day. At four months, they could now sit up, which meant they could stick them in baby chairs and let Layla and Makarov tend to their growing need for entertainment.

Once they were settled in with Makarov in the living room, Laxus went to the kitchen for his second cup of coffee and heard the pitter patter of little feet in dress-up high heels.

He wasn't really sure what to think about this phase, but if Layla wanted to dress like a doctor or princess or warrior or whatever, he wasn't going to intervene. Lucy changed clothes six times before she chose an outfit on a day where she had no plans to go anywhere, so he didn't really know if it was even a phase.

At present, she was wearing a blue princess dress, sparkly blue heels, and a little tiara.

"Good morning, Princess."

"Good morning, Daddy. You want to see what Gams taught me?"

"Magic?"

She nodded.

"Let's see it."

Layla held her hands out, and two little balls of light formed in each of her palms. She started to bring them together, and Laxus realized exactly what she was about to do.

"Hey, dont-!"

 _Ka-boom!_

Apparently the best light spells for an almost-three-year-old to learn were the ones that caused temporary blindness and ringing ears.

Laxus covered his eyes and hissed. "Dammit, GRAMPS!"

"What's wrong, Daddy?"

Makarov saw his grandson holding his eyes and groaning and saw the cracks in the walls and knew there was going to be a little hell to pay. "Well…"

His vision cleared after a few minutes and the ringing ears quieted and he looked around at the room. Dishes drying next to the sink were cracked, the walls were cracked, the vase of flowers on the table was cracked and leaking water.

Layla asked with teary eyes, "Are you mad, Daddy?"

If this had been Yuri, Laxus would have made him go _bzzzzzt_ in a heartbeat. Honestly, he always assumed Yuri would be the first one to do something extremely destructive in the house so it was a surprise that the sweet little princess would beat him to the punch with the equivalent of a magic grenade.

He knelt, still blinking a little too often with stinging eyes. "No Princess. Just don't use that spell in the house, okay? Just if you're in trouble. Or with Gramps. Use it on him whenever."

The door opened and Lucy came in and looked around. "You know what? I'm not even going to say anything. I come in and my kitchen is half wrecked and I've got two Dreyar men standing around looking like they didn't do anything."

Makarov looked over at Layla, who tearfully said, "I'm sorry, Mama. I didn't mean to!"

Lucy wasn't sure what was more unbelievable: that her son hadn't been the one to damage the house or that her tiny little daughter was somehow capable of that level of destruction. She knelt and said, "Magic is for outside, or for if you're in trouble, okay?"

Laxus sipped his coffee as she ran off to cry, having somewhat wrecked their kitchen while trying to show her new magic to her daddy. He sighed and followed her when he realized his coffee cup was cracked too, and Makarov started to stalk out of the kitchen when Lucy grabbed him by the collar and lifted him to eye level.

The mama bear glared at him, but he was unafraid, because he had the best defense of all.

"She can use it to defend herself. Even now. If someone snatches her right now they're in for a nasty little struggle trying to run with a kid who can blind and deafen them."

For a mother who worried about her babies, a few cracks in the walls and broken well...everything in the kitchen was cracked...it was acceptable. Broken dishes were better than bruised babies any day.

"Fine. But you're the one that gets to fix all this crap. I doubt very seriously you were able to teach her a spell that she did understand but she missed the part where she's not supposed to do that in the house. My daughter is not an idiot, so I assume that means you forgot to mention it," she said.

"I _am_ over ninety."

"No excuses!" the blonde exclaimed, wagging her finger at Makarov, "I understand Layla has a gift and we have agreed as parents to allow you to raise her in your magic, but the last thing I want is a houseful of unruly, crazy wizards."

Makarov snorted. "Says the woman who married a unruly, crazy wizard and had a shit ton of kids."

His little body flew through the air easily as he received a Lucy!Kick to the stomach, and she turned. "This better be cleaned up by the time Yuri gets back from school or I promise you'll be sorry, Gramps!"

In the living room, the twins were sitting in their little baby chairs awaiting their normal entertainment but all they could hear was their mother yelling in the next room until Chelia came downstairs with two dragon puppets which she used to reenact recent scenes from Dreyar life.

Anna went to giggling immediately, but Mavis was a tough customer. The nanny knew she'd struck gold when the Cranky One started laughing and flailing around.

Lucy was more than a little pissed when she blitzed through the living room, but stopped at the sight of happy babies who were even happier when they saw their Mama. "Are my sweet little baby girls happy today?"

The sight of giggling twins was enough to derail anyone's plan to be angry, especially their mother's, and she forgot her busy day for a while and sat on the floor with Chelia, holding one on each side of her lap while Chelia went on with her puppets.

If she could, Lucy would have lived her whole life with a soundtrack of those two precious little babies giggling on a constant loop. It was such a happy, beautiful sound, the kind that makes a person happy. Getting Mama snuggles only increased the level of glee the babies had, and she nuzzled and kissed on them while they squealed from sheer joy.

Meanwhile, Laxus was upstairs, laying on his daughter's fluffy pink bed while she laid next to him, sulking with her head down in the pillow. If he'd learned anything about living with girls, he knew she'd be fine if he just let her calm down a bit. Trying to convince a girl to not be upset about something was, to him, about as useful as trying to convince a cat to jump in a bathtub filled with ice water.

When her 'upset clock' ran out of time, she took a deep breath and sat up. "Daddy."

"Princess."

She kissed him on the cheek. "I love you lots and lots."

"I love you too," he dragged his fingers through her baby soft curls.

"Don't mess up my hair," she snapped.

"Just like your Mama: cute but kind of a brat. Just don't blind me again and we'll be okay."

"Daddy, if I'm a princess, can I kiss a frog?"

"Only if you want me to wash your lips with soap. The kind that kills germs."

"That kind tastes bad."

He looked down at her in question and wondered why he kept finding teeth marks in bars of soap around the house. Since it wasn't a mouth with fangs, it wasn't a difficult mystery, but as a parent, he'd learned to accept that kids just did a lot of weird things that made no sense. She didn't bathe by herself, so he decided she probably did this in secret during the day.

Layla was also an eater of glue and play-doh, but wouldn't eat carrots because they looked like little orange fingers to her or a lot of other foods for equally nonsensical reasons (fish smelled like fish, therefore she wouldn't not eat them).

"I have to go to the guild for a while, okay, Princess?"

"Okay, Daddy."

She kissed him on the cheek.

"Just for the record, I'm not a frog. I'll see you later."

He went to the guild and as soon as he got there, he intercepted a very-pregnant Mirajane Justine as she carried a tray of beer across the room.

"I don't even know why you're here when you have paid maternity leave approved. But I do know I told you no heavy lifting. You can do the office-type stuff. That's it. And not for more than a few hours a day," he said.

Mirajane tried to take the tray back, and he held it up higher. "Don't tell me what to do, Master!"

Freed was off on a job, trying to save up a little money before the baby came, so Laxus was trying to keep an extra eye out for her. Of course, she had Elfman and Lisanna, but nobody in that family told Mirajane what to do, especially when she was cranky and pregnant. Laxus had no such fear as he was well-experienced at telling pregnant women to sit down and be good.

Mirajane was like Lucy though, and she didn't like to sit still at home. She wasn't going to sit around and knit or whatever ordinary mothers did while they awaited their arrival of their babies. The guild was her family, and she was used to tending to them.

Laxus whistled to a nineteen-year-old Romeo Conbolt who came over somewhat reluctantly. "You're slinging booze today. Have fun."

He went on to his office after making the rounds and checking up on the younger members, annoying the older ones, and making fun of the people in the middle-range who were neither young nor powerful.

And there he found Gray Fullbuster laying on his couch like he was checking in for therapy. In the recent years, he was often consulted as an 'authority' on relationships because he and Lucy had a good relationship and had successfully, dated, married, and were raising a family. Most of the other wizards in their early to mid twenties were somewhere along that path, or wanted to be on it, or were deliberately avoiding it, like Gray Fullbuster.

Gray was an amazingly steady man who had changed very little. He still avoided Juvia, he wasn't desperate to have kids, and he was slowly climbing the magic ladder with his eyes set on a high place.

Laxus sat at his desk and drummed his fingers on it as he looked at the man laying completely naked on his leather couch. "You're apparently having a shitty day, but could you at least put your boxers on?"

The ice wizard seemed surprised by the fact he was buck naked and pulled his boxers on as he stared despondently at the floor. "So. My life is empty and pointless. Everyone I know is getting married and having kids, and while they're talking about their great lives, I'm like 'I have a cat.' But I don't have a cat because having a pet is a serious commitment. I lie about having a pet because I don't want anyone to realize how vacuous my life really is."

"If this is about any woman anywhere, let me just save you the trouble and let you know if you can't commit to feeding and watering an animal, you're not ready. Women take a lot more than a water bowl and some kibble. Some do like leashes and collars," Laxus answered.

Gray said, "Juvia and I... _happened_."

Laxus blinked in surprise, because this had been going on for eight years, during which they'd gone through different phases. Once, they were almost on, and then off, and then Lyon was around now and then trying to make his play and Gray couldn't stand that, and then Juvia became reluctant, having long outgrown her fascination for him. Once she started ignoring him, then he started to have a problem even though he vehemently denied it. Her lack of attention created a grating, slow burn in Gray which he'd evidently succumbed to at some point after considering his life.

"About time. I started dating, got engaged, got married, and had four kids in the time you've been doing the Dance of the Dipshit."

The ice wizard looked up at the ceiling. "It was amazing. Like woah. I cried like a baby afterward."

"Was it because it was good or because you realized your life is pointless? Or perhaps because you realized you've been missing out great sex for eight years?"

"All of the above. What am I doing with my life?"

Laxus shrugged and looked back down at the mail. "If you don't know, don't expect me to. Look, you two have been at this for too long. You can't play with Juvia forever. You'll end up losing her to that creepy bug-eyed albino."

Gray folded his hands on his chest as he considered all this and his guildmaster went about his work. Being the master meant he had to not only manage the money, the jobs, the youngsters, the interactions with authorities, etc., but he also had to deal with the things that were important to the members. It was sort of like being a counselor, but when it came to relationships, he had to tread carefully. He'd ended up in the middle of Levy and Gajeel and ended up climbing out through the window because woah, Levy's temper made Lucy's seem tame by comparison.

Laxus said, "I have a pony in the race. I don't want Juvia running off with Lyon, because that ends two ways: first I lose one of my S-Class wizards to Lamia Scale, or second, said creepy bug-eyed albino ends up joining this guild and I have to deal with you stewing in your regret for the rest of your life because no matter what, you will never find a woman who loves you like Juvia."

"So...how about eloping?"

Laxus sighed. "That seems pretty stupid, but that's what makes it an excellent fit for your personality and situation."

Gray wasn't unaware of the insults being slung continuously across the desk. It was the Laxus Tax; he gave excellent advice, but reluctantly and it always came packaged rudely.

The ice wizard jumped up. "Thanks, man. You're actually a pretty awesome master."

When the door to his office slammed shut, it opened a few minutes later and Mira came in and sat on the couch. She rubbed her belly slowly, and Laxus watched it distend outward for a second.

"Lively little demon."

"Yes he is."

"He?"

Mirajane smiled. "Thanks to you, the guild has plenty of baby girls."

"You want to take a nap? I bought that so Lucy could take catnaps when she was pregnant. There are pillows in the closet."

The woman said, "I was about to go see if I can find some falafel and onions. You love to eat off food carts so do you know where I can find falafel?"

"Craving?" he asked in amusement.

"Freed usually jumps up when I ask. I can't wait for him to come back."

Laxus stood from his desk. "I'm good at this kind of thing. My wife has been pregnant three times. I can find a fried sour plum at four in the morning if I have to. Falafel and onions is cake."

"Oh, cake...I want some of that too. Coconut. Goes with the onions."

The guildmaster, having accepted the fact that he wasn't going to get any work done that day, set out on his journey and quickly located Mira's snack, returning to find her sitting at his desk with a letter opener and a stack of sorted, processed, and stacked mail.

"You really are helpless when it comes to paper. The water bill is due today also. Sign this check and I'll drop it in the mail on my way home," she chided.

He scribbled his name. "Lucy was supposed to come help me today, but she got distracted."

Laxus traded her food for paperwork, knowing he got the raw side of the deal, and after eating she fell asleep on the couch and he thought briefly back to when they were young. It was interesting to grow up with someone and remember their different struggles and phases in life. He was glad everyone was still around together and finding happiness in their own ways.

For the next few hours, he did make an effort to work until the demon stirred again.

"I can't wait for when all the kids grow up to be teens. All these little boys and all your little girls...it's going to be fun."

Laxus had already seen this as a serious problem in the future. "Fun for who?"

Mira giggled, "Probably everyone except you."

"I can assure you that if I'm not having fun, nobody will. We're all going to be miserable together."

When it was time to get his son from school, Laxus decided to call this unproductive day more or less over and headed to the preschool, where his son was positively despondent. He'd received a gold star for behaving and doing all his work, a blue star for being so helpful and nice, and a green star for treating others kindly.

Yet, he looked like he was drowning in a sea of disappointment.

Laxus suspected it probably had something to do with his little crush. His daily school life was a mixture of typical preschool activities and this relentless pursuit of a little girl's friendship. They had established some cycle wherein he'd almost convince her to be his friend, and then he'd have an awkward 'dragon moment' and she'd be pissed off at him again. Then he'd have to keep being nice to her and just when she was almost okay with him, he'd have another moment.

Yuri walked quietly next to him for a couple of minutes so Laxus asked, "What happened? You seem pretty down."

"Lilia decided we can be friends today. She told me to swing with her on the swingset."

Laxus could practically feel the story take a theme of disaster. "And you explained you can't get on the swings because it makes you sick?"

"No, I did it. And then...I was dizzy and I tripped and fell on her. Then I threw up."

"Oh her?"

"Yeah. She was mad."

His father cringed visibly as he tried to imagine how all this played out and it wasn't pretty. In the weeks he'd been in school, he'd tasted her hair, given her a little lovebite, and thrown up on her. It was safe to say that like all dragon males, he was extremely socially awkward with the female of choice. Yuri had probably uttered the phrase, 'she was mad' in reference to this unfortunate girl at least thirty times.

His father put his hand on his head. "Son, when it comes to girls, it's important to know when to quit."

"You told me never to give up."

"That's about other stuff. Quitting girls is okay, especially after you do something that terrible. There are other girls in your class you haven't puked on and they all seem to like you," he said.

Yuri was quite disappointed by this, and sighed in resignation.

When they made it home, he sat on the floor of the living room in silence with his alphabet flashcards. He was four, his favorite girl wouldn't be his friend, he was colorblind, and his breath tasted and smelled like vomit.

His father watched him mope, throwing the cards on the floor after calling the letter on them.

Laxus learned his wife and oldest daughter decided to have an impromptu mama/daughter day out on the town and this was the reason he'd been stuck with all the paperwork. The twins were sound asleep, and Chelia was studying in her room.

The kitchen looked like nothing had ever happened, which was a testament to how much Makarov actually feared Lucy's wrath. He was also asleep, which meant the house was almost eerily quiet.

He began cooking dinner, and was draining spaghetti noodles when the doorbell rang.

Lucy had the ability to just buy one box of cookies from the Forest Scouts, but Laxus? If a little girl asked him to do something, he pretty much just did whatever it was.

Yuri praised his decision to buy thirty boxes of cookies and the two males sat in the kitchen and ate cookies and drank milk while Laxus attempted to impart something like wisdom into his son when it came to dealing with little girls.

When Lucy came home, she found her 'boys' sitting in the kitchen surrounded by boxes of cookies. Whatever they were talking about, they became silent immediately when she entered the room, which was suspicious as hell.

Layla knew the cookie boxes well, because the Forest Scouts got Laxus every year. "Cookies!"

"After dinner. I'm sure your father made our son eat dinner first, right?"

Laxus and Yuri glanced at each other and she shook her head. "Men…"

It wasn't really that much of a surprise. If she was out of town or not at home for whatever reason, the two of them would sit around, eat junk food, and wrestle. Lucy felt like they'd recently started keeping 'man secrets' from her because she kept walking in on them and they'd get quiet.

Yuri knew he was in trouble for eating cookies for dinner and slid down from his chair and ran to his mama, stretching his arms up.

She lifted her growing son with a groan. "You're getting a bit heavy, you know."

"Cause Daddy lets me eat cookies a lot. I missed you today. Do you miss me when I go too?" he sweetly asked.

Lucy kissed him. "You're such a sweet boy."

Laxus watched his son demonstrate that he knew damn well what was going on between his parents and he felt a little like his son was abandoning him to his mother's wrath over the cookies. He'd come to terms with the fact that he wasn't really anywhere near as cute as Yuri. Yet part of what made Yuri adorable to women was the fact he was a miniature version of his father, so Laxus felt like he should automatically get points for making him cute in the first place.

Once the kids were in bed, babies were fed and asleep, and parents finally got themselves showered and in bed, Lucy was reflecting on the day. It felt unnaturally long and complicated, but balancing training, work, and four kids was never going to be easy. Their kids were starting to be a little more 'special,' so more challenges lay ahead.

She was grateful to have a husband with whom she shared all of this. By that point, there was very little they didn't share, and she liked it like that.

The blonde was reflecting on how much she liked her awkward and at times annoying but otherwise wonderful husband when she rolled onto her belly and immediately felt warm hands on her back.

She smiled. "You know what I'm going to miss?"

"What."

"The sound of baby giggles. Just watching Yuri grow up causes me to remember that we're going to wake up and the twins are going to be in school and running all over the place."

She moaned when the palms of his hands rolled over her tense shoulders, and he said, "They're going to be a lively bunch when they grow up. We have the white knight, the drama queen, the sweetheart, and the troublemaker."

He remembered his day and said, "Oh, and Gray and Juvia are eloping."

"WHAT?!" she rolled off the bed onto the floor. "What what what what what what?! How can you say that so casually?! Tell me everything!"

Laxus sighed, pulled her back onto the bed, and resumed his back rub. "Gray realized how pointless his life is and decided to grow up. I bet he knocks her up if for no other reason than the fact that Natsu has one kid and he has zero."

"God, I hope not. Gray can't even keep a cactus alive. And let's not mention the cat."

"There was actually a cat?"

His wife nodded. "He got drunk and told the cat he was sorry for being a bad owner and set it free in South Gate Park. Erza's been taking care of it for years. Strangely enough, he used to dress the cat. I went over to his place once and he was naked and the cat was fully clothed and it was all just so weird and backwards."

"The thought of a naked man putting clothes on a cat is hilariously disturbing."

"Right?"

They spent a while talking and once the light was turned out, Lucy snuggled up to him and said, "I love you, you know."

He kissed her hair. "Love you too, Babe."

Laxus turned the light on and said, "So, you know our five year wedding anniversary is coming up, right?"

"Right."

"Do you want to do anything special?"

"I'm cool. We can just celebrate here."

Her husband shook his head. "How about we go away just the two of us? We'll relax, have a little romance, sleep like people who don't have kids…"

"Sold! To the guy tempting me with the idea of sleeping eight consecutive hours in a row. Is it bad I'm more excited about sleeping all day than having sex?"

"No one is judging you. I want to fuck you until your forget your name and then use your tits as a pillow for ten hours straight," he answered.

Lucy said, "You're charming in a very weird and kind of disgusting way."

"Runs in the family. Pity your son."

"Why?"

"No reason. Goodnight."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _Special thanks to mewhee89, megumiyoung, dofsrcool5, xxshyxx, guest, andy24amk, adabs18, julius night, aroura leona, guest, kennedydreyarm tiernank, aoutre, thealicehuntt, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, katiekat2001, thornado, yumeyumi1986, paname, and honeyclouds for reviewing!_


	39. The Play Date

It was eleven o'clock in the morning, and Lucy drowsily opened her eyes, smiled, and closed them again, snuggling up to her sleeping dragon. They'd never been away from the kids at the same time for an overnight period, and since they'd been raising newborns and toddlers for the past four years, they had shared chronic exhaustion.

Laxus asked her a thousand questions about where she wanted to go and then realized all either of them really wanted to do was lay around and do the absolute sum of nothing. They'd spent the last three days sleeping, making love, eating room service, taking an occasional walk along the beach, watching beautiful sunsets, most of which were things he'd found lame and boring in years past.

He never understood why anyone would take such a lame, un-exciting vacation until he had kids and serious job responsibilities that amounted to more than going different places and beating up people for money.

His children had different attitudes toward the idea of his parents sleeping which he would describe as follows:

Yuri - "It's six am, I'm hungry and I want to fight."  
Layla - "I will crawl in your bed and sleep in with you until noon."  
Anna - "Sorry to interrupt your sleep, but I need snuggles."  
Mavis - "Get up and hold me while I act like I don't like it or I'll scream until you go deaf."

These attitudes led to seriously disturbed parental sleeping patterns.

Besides,it was nice to spend a few days with just his wife.

So when he woke up at noon, he let out a long, contented sigh and looked down at Lucy, who was sleeping peacefully next to him, bathed in sunlight. Long, golden hair, pretty, smooth skin, gorgeous curves...Time was good to her, and her face looked a lot kinder and softer with the years they'd been married.

When she awoke, they ordered room service, and while they waited, they showered and Lucy put on some black lingerie and heels. She got right back into the bed, laying on her stomach with her feet up, head rested in her hand as he settled in beside her.

"I miss the kids."

He grinned and stretched his arm out to run his fingers through her hair. "You're such a good little mommy."

"You too. With all these little girls, you're too cute. I was thinking the other day about when I first got pregnant with Yuri and you told me we'd have nothing but little boys because a girl hadn't been born into your family for so long," she said.

Her husband shrugged. "I think it's best that way. If we had one girl and a bunch of boys it would be a hassle. We'd have to rebuild our house every other Tuesday. Although, if all our girls are like Layla, maybe that's just going to be how it is for us. I'd prefer they be fierce."

"Oh?"

"I'd like for them to be like you. Mean and smart as fuck."

Lucy climbed on top of him, roughly kneeing him in the abdomen. "Mean, huh?"

"Don't play with me, little girl. You know I like to get rough."

They wrestled, and he felt like she had an unfair advantage because stilettos were basically just very impractical weapons. Lucy was a flexible little thing and she knew how to leverage those heels against him in a way that hurt so good.

She giggled and bit his bottom lip when there was a knock on the door.

" _Room service!"_

Laxus threw the comforter over her and pulled on a pair of pants. "We will resume this after champagne and strawberries."

"Or during," she purred.

A cart was brought in with steaks and vegetables and all sorts of other delicious fare, and the attendant set it out on their little table, opened the champagne, and left them alone again.

Lucy did what she'd gotten so used to doing and went to both plates and cut the steaks up into tiny bites while her husband watched in amusement. Yuri had no problem with uncut meat, but Lucy cut up his food because he had a brute of a dragon in him and would gladly pick up a hunk of meat and eat with his bare hands. Layla was finicky and only took small bites.

Neither of them was ready for a knife.

"Babe."

"Eh?"

Lucy looked down and sighed. "Things that become habit when you are raising small children…"

"I'm a big boy, I take big bites."

They ate and then returned to the bed with chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne.

"I wonder how long alcohol stays in the body. I don't really want to get home tomorrow and get the babies drunk," Lucy said.

Laxus said, "Gramps used to get me to sleep by putting whiskey on my pacifier. I turned out okay. Besides, I bet they'd sleep well. Especially Mavis. Happy little drunk baby dragon."

Lucy drank from the bottle and offered it to him. "You know, I kind of like you."

"I like you too. You wanna get married and have some babies? Oh, we already did that."

His wife grinned. "I can't wait for the S-Class trials. I kind of hope I get Juvia. I think it would be fun. I definitely don't want to end up against Gildarts."

"That rusty old ginger won't bother you because you're almost the same age as his daughter. He practically get Levy skate past him and then claimed she outsmarted him. Of the S-Class wizards you might run into, Natsu, Freed, Gray, and Gildarts are going to go easy on you. Juvia will be fair. I'll bring ice packs in case you draw Erza."

"What about Mira?"

"Her baby will be...four months old? Might stop her, might not. Mirajane has always been a little unpredictable. I have a vision of her holding a baby in one hand and kicking Romeo's ass with the other. God, let that happen, please."

Lucy fed him a strawberry, which he was more than happy to eat. He was always oddly aroused when she fed him, and he wasn't entirely sure why.

Actually, pretty much everything she did made him happy, drove him crazy, or made him want to bent her over the nearest hard surface.

Life was good, and five years in, they couldn't have been happier.

XXX

When Laxus and Lucy arrived back in town the next day, there was a newspaper about Fairy Tail destroying half of Dandelion, so the guildmaster groaned.

"I'm going to the guild for a minute. Let Gramps and Chelia know I'll get Yuri on the way home. Be back as soon as I can."

The lightning dragon slayer walked to the guild, kicked all of the appropriate asses, checked the appropriate boxes on the appropriate forms, and answered an inquiry from the Council. He honestly didn't even know why they bothered to ask anymore. He imagined there were bureaucrats employed solely to handle the government paperwork related to Natsu and Gray.

He was half an hour late picking his son up, so when he arrived, the kids whose parents had a bad sense of time or a great sense of neglect were playing on the playground under the teacher's care.

Yuri was pushing a little girl on the swing, and it was cute.

She had long lilac-colored hair and big blue eyes, and she seemed happy with Yuri at the moment, giggling and urging him to push her higher.

So he pushed her so hard she fell off the swing and went face-down into the dirt, and when she sat up to start crying, the swing came back and hit her in the face.

The girl started screaming and crying hysterically, and Yuri knelt and tried to comfort her, offering the sincerest of apologies, to which she replied with, "I hate you! Go away!"

Yuri then realized his father was there and gave him a confused expression, which Laxus replied to by gesturing for his son to come to him.

"There's such a thing as having no game at all, and then there's that. Honestly, son, you've got to be more gentle. Girls are delicate," his father said.

His son sighed sadly. "She sat with Tony at lunch. He's short and he can't spell his own name. He eats glue."

Laxus ruffled his hair and knelt, deciding to help his poor helpless son a bit. He obviously wasn't making anything work to his advantage and it was a father's honor to teach his son to treat women well. He said, "Let me teach you something really important about girls. Before a girl will make friends with you, she has to be happy. You have to find out what she likes, and make her happy."

"How do I do that?"

He looked over, "See her backpack, what is it?"

"A cat."

"And her earrings?"

"Cats."

"Headband?"

"Cat ears."

Laxus said, "So, we know she likes cats."

"Ummmm…I think?"

"She likes cats. You have a pet tiger. Short Tony who can't spell his own name ain't got nothin' on you," Laxus said.

Because really, what was worse than being illiterate _and_ tigerless?

Yuri considered this for quite a while and once the girl stopped crying, made his way back to her as she sat on a bench. Laxus couldn't hear what he said, but the girl forgot she hated his guts and jumped off the bench, and when her mom arrived to get her, she asked her mom if she could 'go play.'

Parents negotiated, Laxus agreed to let her father pick her up at the Dreyar house as it was 'his weekend.' The spoke about the girl's father in a tone one might speak of an unfortunate and highly embarrassing rash.

Laxus was looking forward to seeing his wife's face when she saw their son brought a little girl home. He considered it fair game since she enjoyed how much he disliked the little dragon boys coming over to play with Layla. He was excited to repeat things that had been told to him like: "get over it," "grow up," and "they're just kids, chill out, will you?"

On the way home, he observed them carefully, and found she didn't talk very much. Yuri didn't talk much either, so they mostly just walked in silence.

"Your dad is really big."

"I'm going to be really big like him too someday. Probably bigger, cause he doesn't drink his milk. My dad is a wizard. He's the best," Yuri answered.

"My dad's a wizard too."

Laxus _knew_ there was something familiar about her scent, but he couldn't place it. Sometimes he wished he had Natsu's sense of scent memory as Natsu could remember the smell of some random guy that bumped into him at the tram ten years ago. Laxus could barely remember the scents of people he met last week.

Laxus asked, "What is your last name?"

"Eucliffe."

He turned, knelt, and stared at her. She looked just like Sting, just with light purple hair and in little girl form. And when he tried hard enough, he could sense there was a ton of magic sealed up in her little body, probably to prevent anyone from smelling or sensing she had dragon blood. That would be dangerous, as she clearly didn't live with her father.

His little dragon had unwittingly crossed paths with a little girl dragon. Yuri might not have had active knowledge that she was like him, but his dragon instincts were as sharp as ever.

Sting hadn't mentioned having a love child in Magnolia, but then again, Laxus wasn't sure where in the agenda of the local guildmasters meetings that might fall.

Laxus was so incredibly amused by all of this he couldn't help but smirk because in two to three hours, Sting Eucliffe was going to show up at his house and learn the son of the Fairy Tail guild master had successfully wooed his daughter into a play date.

He couldn't wait.

At the house, he let the kids in and announced, "Lucy, our son has a friend over."

Then, he went upstairs to see his precious little baby girls.

Lucy came out of the kitchen, where she was studying magic and cooking dinner at the same time and instead of seeing another little boy, there was a pretty little girl with a cat backpack. "A girl…"

She wasn't the only blonde that was upset by this, as Layla typically counted down the time until her brother came home from school so they could play together. Layla was more than a little disappointed that Yuri brought some other girl to play with.

Laxus felt sorry for all his son's future girlfriends, as Yuri had a mother and three sisters. Even the twins were possessive about Yuri and would cry if he was paying attention to only one of them.

Layla stalked and sulked, watching from the railing upstairs, and Laxus, finding the twins asleep, decided to leave them alone and annoy his oldest daughter instead.

She was very busy being pissed off did take time out of her wrath to hug him and tell him she missed him, but then she said, "I don't like her."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Just because."

Her father said, "I think that you're sad your brother is playing with her and not you."

"Why would he play with her?"

Laxus said, "Maybe he wants to."

Layla responded to this with the silent treatment.

Laxus sat next to her on the floor and said, "When you start school, you're going to make your own friends too."

"I'm the sister. She's a dumb girl."

"Don't be mean, princess. She's just here to play. He'll be your brother forever."

She was unconvinced and stomped down the hall.

"Where are you going?"

Layla stuck her nose in the air. "To play alone!"

Meanwhile, Yuri and Lilia sat down in the living room on Raijin's bed with the tiger, and while the girl hugged on the tiger and felt her silky fur and how big and warm she was, Yuri told her all about growing up with a tiger friend.

Yuri was quite happy and had no idea that he had hell to pay with the other women in his life.

Lucy meanwhile was in the kitchen, chopping an onion about ten times harder than was necessary.

"They're just kids," her husband teased when he came downstairs.

Lucy pointed the knife at him. "That's what you and Yuri have been talking about in secret, isn't it? Keeping secrets from me. If you remember, he came out of my body, not yours."

Laxus said, "Do you want me to tell you how much sense you are not making right now?"

"You better not, Laxus Dreyar. Besides, I'm fine. Unlike you, I don't need to be childish. If our son wants to have a girl who is his friend, that's fine."

"Do I need to explain the difference between girl who is a friend and girlfriend?"

She glared at him. "I feel like you are really enjoying this."

"This is the most fun I've had since well, the past few days were just the best thing ever. The best part hasn't even happened yet. By the way, where the hell is Gramps? And Chelia for that matter…"

Lucy said, "As soon as I got home, they decided to leave. They are running bets out of a local pub these days. I will never understand their partnership."

When dinner was ready, Lucy was a little alarmed by how polite and proper Yuri was at the table. He was normally a mess, and a brute, and really just didn't see the need for eating utensils. It was the first time they'd gotten through a meal without her having to say, "use your fork."

Layla stared daggers into Lilia Eucliffe, who either didn't notice or pretended it wasn't happening. The jealous three-year-old pushed her food around with her fork, preferring dispensing dirty looks to eating good food.

Lucy knew what her daughter was obviously irrationally envious, and said, "Stop, Layla. Eat your food."

"I'm not hungry."

They went back and forth for a while, and the little blonde reluctantly ate, although she made it clear to all she was very unhappy.

When the doorbell rang at eight-thirty, Laxus felt nothing short of joyous anticipation as he opened it and found Sabertooth guildmaster Sting Eucliffe there to claim his daughter. He had a piece of paper with the Dreyar address written on it, and he was already annoyed.

What was worse than showing up to get his daughter for the one weekend he had her a month and finding out her mother let her go to a strange family's house?

When that strange family was the Dreyars.

Lucy came in the living room to see what why her husband was looking forward to anyone coming to their house. Normally, he despised anyone visiting.

Sting looked up. "I think there's been a mistake."

"You looking for a kid?"

"I swear to God, if that woman let my kid come over here…"

Lucy pointedly asked, "What's wrong with our family?"

Sting got a little nervous when she asked that. If it had only been him and Laxus, he would have felt free to give him an itemized list of things he didn't like about the Dreyars which would inevitably end in electrocution like most of his encounters with Laxus did. The idea of pissing Lucy Dreyar off was considerably scarier.

Instead, he opted to go the safe route, and looked around to find his daughter had fallen asleep snuggled up to a tiger next to a little boy that looked like a miniaturized version of the rival guildmaster.

"Please tell me that thing isn't real."

Raijin raised her head and he jumped and snatched his daughter. "Why is there a tiger in your house? Don't you have like thirteen kids?"

Laxus sarcastically replied, "We probably wouldn't have to keep having babies if the tiger would stop eating them. And we only have four now. Thanks for being insensitive."

The girl was groggy and cranky. "Raijin is my friend!"

Sting said, "That is a tiger. Tigers eat kids."

She struggled until he dropped her and she landed on her feet in true dragon fashion. "I want to say goodbye to my friend."

Lucy watched her run back and hug on the tiger. "Sting, since when do you have a kid?"

"I had been living with this girl a few years ago and she got tired of me and moved back here with her family. I got a letter in the mail last year telling me I had a three-year-old daughter with a magic problem. Minerva sealed her magic up. I can't really do anything for her since I only get to see her one weekend a month," he said.

She answered, "Magnolia is full of dragons. I'm sure we could help if her magic was unsealed."

Sting despised the idea of needing Fairy Tail's assistance to raise his daughter and said, "So, is that your son?"

"That's my boy," she said.

"...and my daughter. Disgusting."

Lucy pointed at Sting. "Is my son disgusting to you?"

"No, uhhh…" he nervously spattered.

Then she laughed, "Just kidding. We have three girls, I have to deal with this crap with Laxus all day long."

Lilia finally let go of the tiger, told Yuri goodnight, and went to take her father's hand. "Can't I spend the night?"

Sting cringed. "Lilia, that's something you can do with your friends who are _girls_."

Laxus said, "I have a question though."

"What," the other dragonslayer answered in a tone that clearly said, 'Why don't you just drop dead?'

"Are you sure about wearing belly shirts when you have a daughter? You don't want her to think showing some skin is the only way to get ahead, do you? Might have gotten you guildmaster at a young age, but you really should set a better example," Laxus teased.

Lucy sighed. "Laxus. Enough. Geeze, you two are ridiculous."

Sting didn't even know how to describe how unhappily surprised he was that his normally shy daughter made friends with a boy. And not just any boy, but the heir apparent to the Fairy Tail throne, the guildmaster's first born son.

And Laxus' kid at that. Laxus was one of maybe five people he couldn't defeat in battle, and it was a source of ire for him. Watching the lightning dragon slayer smirk about his son's favor with his daughter just made him want to try again, but he didn't want to get his ass kicked in front of his kid.

It was all so insulting.

Sting left with his daughter, and for the entire walk back to the train station, all he heard about was Yuri Dreyar: how Yuri is taller than all the other boys in class, how Yuri shares his snacks, how Yuri can make sparks come out of his hands and mouth, how strong Yuri is, how Yuri's parents let him have a pet tiger, how soft Yuri's hair is even though it stands up...it was ridiculous and sickening that any offspring of his could be so ridiculously smitten by little mini-Laxus.

And he knew that smug lightning bastard was basking in it too.

As a father, even one that wasn't experienced, of course he wanted to threaten and scare the little rascal, but he couldn't do that without aggravating Yuri's parents.

Meanwhile at home, Yuri was very happy. As he grew older, he had a less and less extreme range of emotions, but he seemed quite pleased he'd finally befriended the creature of interest.

The next morning was a fairly normal Saturday. Well...sort of.

Layla made it through breakfast without saying a word to her brother, who was blissfully ignorant she was even mad at him. He did notice his mom give him a funny look once or twice, but he went back to his pancakes.

"Layla, let's go play outside. You want to?"

Silence.

"Layla?"

She had a pretty serious game face for a three-year-old and maintained while she literally acted like he did not exist.

Lucy finally said, "Layla was sad you played with your friend. She was waiting for you to come home yesterday so you can play with her and you could play puppets for the babies."

"She didn't want to play with us?" he asked in confusion.

Laxus folded up his newspaper. "That's just not how girls work, son."

"I'm sorry?" Yuri muttered in question.

He wasn't really sure what he did wrong, but one thing he'd learned in a house filled with girls was that 'I'm sorry' went a long way. He said it often, often preemptively, as a cautionary measure, or to lessen the wrath directed toward him.

"S'okay," Layla said, seemingly accepting his apology.

The parents thought the two had worked out their little problem, until Layla added, "Never bring her here again."

"What if she wants to visit RaiRai?" her brother asked.

"I said no," his little sister answered.

Yuri really didn't know what to say to that, so he went back to eating.

Layla was fine too, as she'd made her point.

Laxus sipped his coffee and gave his daughter a somewhat tired expression.

They went to play 'magic' in the backyard after breakfast, a game they were only allowed to play under the watchful care of their parent wizards or grandfather. They each had the ability to injure the other, but so far, nothing terrible had happened. Magic was an issue of the heart, and they loved one another.

But he'd checked, no one else's kids threw balls of lightning or light at each other.

So laid in a hammock with a beer and two sleepy babies and watched his older babies chase each other all over the yard so happily he was sure he'd be able to get them down for a nap.

It was fun for them, and it helped them hone their aim and abilities.

Just watching them, Laxus suspected his grandfather was right about Layla having some insane amount of dormant magic potential in her. On paper, she was smarter than her brother was, but he'd had relatively good common sense from birth. She benefitted from her emotional volatility in some ways, and he benefitted from being so stable.

He was strong and well coordinated, and she was amazingly agile for an age where her balance was supposed to be terrible. Laxus had never considered his grandfather's cat-like fighting style might have descended from his magic, but he could see it pretty clearly.

Learning to use magic at a young age would pretty much irreversibly change how their bodies grew and operated, but that was always inevitable and it would have been ridiculous to try and postpone something that would only benefit them in the end.

Mavis was exceptionally fussy and upon cursory inspection, he found a fang trying to break through her gum on the bottom right side. On the other side, there was a bump saying she'd soon have fangs in an otherwise toothless mouth.

"Hey, you need to grow human teeth too. Your mom is going to quit feeding you over that little fang and then what? You can't chew with a fang, especially not two on the bottom."

She responded by gumming him with her soft little baby mouth.

"You can't bite me. I made you."

Anna made a happy baby noise and wiggled a little to try and get closer.

"Nice baby. Mean baby. One wants to bite, one wants to snuggle. You're terrible twins. You don't really look alike, you don't act alike, you don't always enjoy being together...and we can't even dress you alike between one of you weighs half what the other does," he complained.

They seemed content despite his playful complaints and went right to sleep.

Lucy came outside for the babies after an hour and found them sleeping sounding on their father's broad chest. "You really _are_ cuter with babies."

She leaned down and froze. "Don't move."

"Is there a bug?" he asked.

Lucy leaned down and stuck her fingers in his hair, then plucked a single hair out and showed it to him. "Look what I found."

Her husband looked up in question. "You found a hair. On my head. This is interesting and surprising for what reason?"

"Look closer."

Laxus squinted and then opened his eyes widely at the little white hair. It wasn't even gray, but bright white and shiny.

Lucy sifted through his hair and found there were actually quite a few peppered in near his temples. She was sure they would have noticed long before if his hair wasn't so light to start with. "You're a cute old guy."

A few months shy of thirty, Laxus was not pleased with this development.

"My dad's hair didn't turn white at all."

Lucy took Anna first. "Are you actually saying you wish you'd inherited your looks from him? You look like your grandfather. So it makes sense."

This bothered him more than anything, and late that night, when he was checking to make sure all the doors were locked, he found his grandfather writing in a notebook at the kitchen table.

"Gramps."

"Yes, grandson?"

Laxus asked, "How old were you when your hair started to turn white?"

Makarov thought about it for a long time and snapped his fingers. "About your age, now that I…"

He burst out laughing and climbed up on the table and grabbed Laxus by the collar, pulling him down to eye level. "Let's see, it started right about..here. By the time I was thirty-five, it was all white. Between fifty and sixty, most of it fell out. So look on the bright side. If you don't like white hair, soon you won't have any at all!" he explained with a deep chuckle.

Laxus loved his hair, and was a little disturbed by the future presented before him that involved premature graying followed by male pattern baldness.

When he went upstairs to shower, he examined the hair washing down the drain and questioned - was there more than normal?

He combed his hair afterward, and noted the shedding.

A wet white hair stuck to the comb, as if mocking him.

Lucy came to the bathroom door. "Suddenly, I realize you're a little vain. Everyone will still love you with white hair."

"And when it falls out?"

"Oh hell no. I'm out if you go bald," she sarcastically answered.

He gave her a certain kind of look and she squealed and ran, diving onto the bed to grab a pillow as he chased. She beat him up with a pillow and then sat on top of him, running her hands through his hair.

"What are you doing?"

"Enjoying it while I can."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to guest, kurahieiritr JIO, sofsof2015, adabs18, arouraleona, sassykitten1701, yumeyumi1986, megumiyoung, titaniazoe, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, andy24amk, kennedydryar, lunastarlady, thornado, aoutre, xxshyxx, ladyallyssa, paname, dogsrcool5, mewhee89, thealicehuntt, and katiekat2001 for reviewing!**_


	40. The Big Dragon and the Little Dragons

Lucy woke up first, and went running. Whether she liked it or not, having four babies took a certain toll on the female body and it took a lot of work to get herself back into shape. That wasn't to say it was impossible, but she'd gained and lost ridiculous amount of weight, carried four children, and gone through the grotesque transformation of her pelvis and hips.

When she got home, she showered and got on the scale and found that she'd successfully achieved her pre-baby weight after six months.

Lucy was disappointed that her body was no longer proportioned like it was back then, but eagerly went downstairs and took out a pair of pink pants from the storage closet that practically made Laxus whine back in the day.

She tried the traditional method first, but it was hard to even pull them up, so she implemented the 'hopping' strategy and managed to get her legs all the way in the pants.

The blonde took a deep breath, stood up as tall as possible, and tried to fasten the button.

These pants had _nothing_ to do with the S-Class trials, but she still found them a challenge.

The button fastened, and then broke off and went flying across the room until it bounced off the wall right above where her two oldest children were silently watching this bizarre behavior their mother was displaying.

Yuri and Layla had been eating cereal with Raijin in groggy silence until their mother came in and went into the closet for her 'skinny' clothes.

They looked at her as if she'd grown three heads, cut one off, and eaten it in front of them.

Layla repeated to her what Lucy told her children when they outsized their clothes.

"Uh-oh, looks like you need bigger pants, Mama!"

Lucy's eyebrow twitched, but when she stood up to make what she felt would be a very witty retort to the three year old, the seat of her pants ripped and Layla broke out into giggles.

Yuri did not laugh, because as it turned out, Yuri really didn't have the best sense of humor. He was a sweet but very serious boy. He took everything literally but could be playful at times; hyperbole was his sister's first language. Listening to them trying to describe the same thing was nothing short of glorious to their mother.

Layla was a little tattletale, and Lucy knew Layla was going to tell Daddy she saw Mommy split the seat of her pants.

Peeling the offending garment off with great effort, she put her yoga pants back on and said, "Layla, what on earth are you doing up at seven in the morning on a Saturday? You're either dead asleep or in my bed by this time."

"I was thinking about my hobby."

It had been three weeks since Layla informed her parents that she needed a 'hobby,' although they still weren't sure where she'd picked up this idea. With the help of her parents, she became member of a baby gymnastics class and spent most of her days learning magic and trying to 'go upside down.'

As if on cue, Laxus came lumbering down the stairs, half-asleep with a baby on each hip. "We're waking up early today?"

He looked at the pants on the floor and one eyebrow rose in question. "Babe, seriously?"

"Don't talk to me right now. It's your fault," she growled.

Laxus put the babies down on the living room floor and watched them start crawling toward their older siblings. Anna got to them first, but decided to put her little fists in the tiger's fur and giggle uncontrollably. Mavis followed, but got distracted along the way and stopped to chew on the coffee table.

Layla got her attention and she crawled over to where the rest of the kids were on the tiger's big bed. "This way, no chewing. Tables aren't food."

Yuri asked, "Mommy are you mad?"

"No!"

The boy tensed, because he was quite certain she was annoyed. "When I'm sad or mad, you know what makes me happy again?"

And she thought he was about to have a sweet moment…

"What, baby?"

"Fighting. And then bacon!"

Lucy wasn't sure which was worse: her daughter giggling at the fact she couldn't fit in her pants or her son telling her she'd feel better about it if she hit somebody and ate some bacon.

Either way, having her son advise her she'd feel better about not being able to fit into her pants after _eating some bacon_ was sad, but true.

The parents went on to the kitchen to prepare a proper breakfast for the kids and while Lucy was stirring batter for waffles, she felt her husband give her butt a good squeeze.

"Don't touch me."

Laxus looked over his shoulder and found his children were all distracted by one another in the living room, which meant he could safely grope his wife during her cooking. "C'mon, babe. Just get rid of that stuff already."

"Why can't I get back into those pants?"

Her husband rolled his eyes as he prepared their coffee to brew. "You're back in shape."

"Yeah, and it's a different shape. I don't know if you noticed or not!" she sarcastically bit back.

Her husband shrugged. "It has no bearing on your performance as a wizard or an athlete or a fighter. If anything, a lower center of gravity is an advantage."

Lucy responded to this comment by punching him in the stomach. "How's that for an advantage?"

"So feisty. I can't resist a girl with big hips and a bad attitude."

She glared at him and said, "There are moments when I look at you, and I listen to you, and I wonder why I married you."

"And then there are moments I fuck you until all you can do is lay there and call my name. Then what?"

She grinned at him and his reference to the night before, when they'd had a notably wonderful time in bed. If he went more than a couple of days, he was always a monster when he finally got it and she loved him like that: rough, powerful, and demanding.

As she cooked, he had her half convinced to join him upstairs after breakfast when they were interrupted.

The doorbell rang, and Lucy answered it and found Natsu with two little boys, Iggy and Sam.

"Mirajane had her baby last night," he said as Lucy opened the door. "Soo...Lisanna had promised to watch Sam and uhhh, you want to watch a couple of extra dragons? I have to catch the train and Lisanna wants to stay with Mirajane today."

Lucy nodded. "How are mom and baby?"

Natsu said, "She's great. She kind of...hurt Freed, but he'll be okay. The baby's good. He looks...imagine if Elfman was a really big baby and his hair was the same color as mint chocolate chip ice cream. That's Henry Freed Justine, the _Third_. Kid doesn't look like Mira. Doesn't look like Freed much. Just: Elfman."

Iggy smiled. "Uncle Elf is a man!"

The pink-haired dragonslayer grimaced. "...and that's why Elfman can't babysit anymore."

The white-haired, green-eyed three-year-old echoed, "Babysitting is a man!"

"If you can figure out how to make him stop that, I'll buy you some chocolate," Natsu added.

"Chocolate is a man!"

Lucy's expression fell. "I'm sure that got old really fast."

Natsu grinned. "You have no idea."

Elfman and Evergreen were the couple that decided not to have kids. They were very involved with Iggy and all the Fairy Tail babies, but had no desire to have their own. Instead, they traveled, went on fine vacations, and had a house filled with breakable items and white carpet.

Once Lucy had all the kids fed and situated, she left to train, and left Laxus with a houseful of kids he'd never agreed to watch on a day he'd proclaimed was his 'day off.' This was his punishment because she couldn't fit in her pants, and he knew it. He attempted to pawn them all off on Chelia and Makarov, but they were already gone to 'take care of some business,' which led Laxus to wonder why they had a nanny at all.

It was generally a disaster for all the little dragon boys to be together indoors, as something would end up burned up, fried with electricity, or full of little metal needles. He sent all the kids outside to the backyard, so they'd run around like maniacs until they fell asleep and all he had to do was supply juice and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. In that respect, they were fairly easy to watch.

Laxus put Mavis and Anna on a big blanket under a tree by his hammock, thoroughly threatened the boys about playing rough near said blanket, and set them free.

The twins at crawling age had to be watched more carefully than the others as they moved amazingly fast and usually in separate directions.

Anna wanted to be snuggled and made her way straight to her father and held her arms up, demanding his attention.

Mavis wanted to join the little dragons' mayhem, and Laxus intercepted her and brought her back to the hammock.

Layla was doing a handstand as she was amazingly adept in her 'hobby,' which went by the formal name of 'gymnastics' but was actually 'how to terrify your father into thinking you've broken your neck six times a day at a minimum.'

He overheard Iggy shout, "Fire is a man!"

Layla yelled, "Fire's not a man!"

"Fire is a man!"

"You're stupid!"

"Stupid is a man!"

"That's right men are stupid!"

The fact that Layla was literally upside down while she had this shouting match with Iggy just made Laxus shake his head. Kids were so incredibly strange at times, but then again, that's part of what made them so amusing. He was happy to see Layla grow into ambition and become more confident as she'd been such a timid toddler.

Yuri was the undisputed king of the baby dragons, because he was oldest and the biggest. He tolerated no nonsense from the younger boys but would take his sister's nonsense any day of the week. That made Layla the most powerful member of the group although Sam and Iggy would generally go along with whatever she wanted regardless of whether or not Yuri was around.

Sam and Iggy had not yet realized they'd fallen victim to male nature in which they did not want the cute girl to pay more attention to other male.

Iggy was the friendly, sweet one. Sam tried to command Layla's attention by annoying her.

Yuri disapproved of both because it had been ingrained into him since Layla was born to keep little boys from bothering her.

Laxus let them play until noon, administered a round of juice and sandwiches, put the babies down for a nap under the care of the nanny who had arrived back home, and then settled back into his hammock with a beer.

It was probably his fault for not keeping eagle eyes on the boys, but as he lay half asleep, little whispers and laughs were had, and a plan was hatched.

The boys ambushed him and jumped onto the hammock simultaneously, flipping Laxus onto the ground to the sounds of laughter. And then they ran as he sat up and looked at his spilled beer and wondered what the hell just happened.

Laxus sighed deeply.

The boys were running and laughing when a bolt of lightning struck directly in front of them and scared Iggy and Sam. Yuri tried to eat it on the other hand, having discovered that his father's lightning was tasty. Laxus considered chasing them down and scaring them further, but instead, just got a new beer and returned to the hammock. There was a degree of chaos they simply had to accept with a bunch of dragon boys so close in age.

The hammock rocked again and he nearly zapped the person responsible until he realized Layla had climbed into it.

"Look, Daddy!"

She flipped off the edge of the hammock onto her head. "Oof! I'll get it soon!"

"Don't give up. I don't have ulcers yet."

"Can you do a backflip?" she asked.

Laxus nodded. "I'm actually kind of athletic, you know?"

Layla didn't seem to believe this at all.

"What do you think?"

"You look big and clumsy."

Normally, he didn't care what anybody thought about him. It was different with his daughter. A father wants his daughter to think well of him, so he rolled out of the hammock while she clenched her fingers in the netting to stay in it.

"Big and clumsy?"

He jumped and did a backflip just to prove her wrong, but didn't put his beer down first so when he landed he found a very cross little face dripping with beer.

"...oops. Baby…"

The precocious three-year-old pointed at him, eyebrow twitching just like her mother's and said, "Don't call me baby!"

She ran inside and slammed the door, undoubtedly to run to her great grandfather. Laxus was sure this would ultimately end with Lucy angrily asking him why he threw beer on their baby, because Layla had an amazing way of retelling stories with untold amounts of exaggeration.

He shrugged and looked up and found the little boys decided to build a campfire in the backyard.

"Boys, no fires," he called, although he wasn't sure why he had to say it in the first place. He wondered what went on in their little minds to arrive at the grand conclusion that they needed to set the backyard on fire.

They were disappointed by this, and Laxus didn't bother explaining why a group of preschool age boys weren't allowed to set fires in the backyard because, he was an adult and grownups didn't have to offer the little people any explanations. He simply left them to their disappointment, and it was satisfying to him.

When Lucy came home from training, Laxus had successfully gotten all of the little ones to take a nap at the same time. This could be considered masterful parenting at its best, and his skills as a father never failed to surprise her.

There were moments where she couldn't help but appreciate what an excellent husband and father grown to become. They had a good family, and they'd been the happiest couple she'd ever known. He still had a thousand habits that annoyed her and had become amazingly adept at getting on her nerves, but she still felt so in love with him after years of marriage and four adorable little babies.

She groaned when she moved one arm and found it sore and he looked up, "You okay?"

She nodded. "Just a bit tender in places, that's all."

"You want me to a run a hot bath?"

Lucy looked down at the dragons sleeping on blankets all over the living room floor. "You can handle them?"

"As you can see, they are handled," he replied.

Lucy accepted his offer and as she sank under the bubbles afterward, she was grateful she had a husband who would do so much extra so she could train and get ready for her S-Class exam. She'd wanted to become S-Class since she was seventeen, and Natsu and Gray made it. But Gray didn't have babies yet and Natsu didn't have to give birth to the one he had.

She didn't regret it.

She loved her family and she'd do it all over again.

When she was drying off and dressing, she heard yelling downstairs and knew the little dragons had awoken, probably to wrestle and eat. She was glad that they had each other, since they weren't entirely 'normal.' Yuri, Sam, and Iggy needed each other to roll around with and bite and do little dragon things with. She tried to imagine how they'd be as teenagers sometimes and couldn't decide whether to be worried or amused.

As she made her way downstairs, she stopped to check in on the twins and found Loke kneeling on the floor in front of Anna, who was standing up thanks to his hands holding her up and the fact she was pulling on his tie.

"This is rare. You usually hide from the kids," she said.

Loke answered, "I'm not human. They are babies of another species."

"How are celestial spirits born anyway?"

"You don't want to know," Loke replied.

"I do. I'm curious now. Were you a little boy at one point?"

"No, Lucy. Let's move on to a different subject," the spirit suggested.

Mavis was chewing on a teething ring in her crib, watching this unfold.

Loke pointed at her. "She bit me."

Lucy smiled. "Loke, she's got dragon in her and I think all of them went through a biting phase. What are you doing, anyway? I don't mind you being around the kids if you want but it's just out of the ordinary for you."

Anna seemed comfortable with him, like this wasn't the first time he'd been around. She seemed to like him which was a relief for Lucy as all the rest of her kids gave Loke and all the other spirits besides Aquarius so much grief.

The Dreyar babies both loved and feared the mermaid.

Loke said, "I had a conversation with the Celestial Spirit King about Anna."

"That's kind of a scary thing to tell a parent," the blonde replied.

He explained, "An immortals, we have a different perspective on matters that happen in this world. When one threat is removed, another one grows in its place. I can't give you any specifics, but there's already signs of trouble brewing. It's like a bad seed and when it grows up and bears fruit, your world is going to be in trouble again."

"What do we do?" she quickly asked, feeling a surge of panic.

Loke smiled at her a bit gently. "It's not something you have to do. It's a concern for the next generation. You already know which one of your children has inherited your ability like you inherited it from your mother, so it shouldn't be a surprise that we know too. I'm just making sure she is able to grow up knowing and trusting me."

Lucy smiled back. "I'm not even really sure about the best way to teach her."

"Start her off small. A Canis Minor key, maybe. When she gets closer to being an adult, I'd like to be the first. I can come through without using her magic, so I'd be able to help protect her when she starts going on jobs and training. As you know, celestial wizards are particularly likely to be kidnapped due to the nature of their powers," he said.

The blonde tapped on her chin and said, "Let me think. Right, I do seem to remember that phase of my teen years where I was kidnapped every other week as part of someone's mad, idiotic scheme."

"It's normal for our masters. Miss Anna will have an easier time because she has a mother and father that are fiercely powerful and when that time in her life comes, three powerful siblings too. I believe your oldest will probably be a good protector for his gifted sisters," he answered.

Lucy smiled. "My baby boy is a white knight for sure."

"He bites me too."

"Still? I'll have a talk with him about that," she said.

The wizard was at peace with all this as she'd been considering it for quite some time. Realistically, she planned on beginning to pass her gold keys on when Anna was around twelve, and perhaps add another one every year so she would be able to master them all and establish relationships with them one by one if Anna chose to take the path of magic in life.

Downstairs, Laxus was pleased when Levy and Lisanna came to claim their little boys and moved on to the next order of business, which was dinner. Between running the guild, four kids, and Lucy's training, he'd been doing quite a bit more than normal, but he wanted to make sure she was able to pass her S-Class exams because he knew it was really important to her.

Layla was with Makarov, being spoiled as always, which left Laxus and his son in the kitchen.

Yuri sat on the edge of the counter and watched with glee as his father started to cook. "I'm so hungry."

"You're always hungry. I feel like you're going to expensive to feed when you get a little bigger," he said.

"It's cause I'm growing so I can be bigger than you," he happily replied.

Laxus stirred boiling macaroni. "I doubt it. You might be Gams' size."

"I'm already Gams' size."

"How's your little girlfriend?"

Yuri answered, "She's not my girlfriend. She's my friend, and she is a girl."

"Oh? Well, I saw at the park her holding hands with a boy," Laxus teased.

Yuri's face became unreadable. "...I don't believe you. Lilia would never hold hands with another boy."

Laxus forgot about his macaroni for a moment and one brow rose. "She holds hands _with you_?"

"Maybe once. She was sad, Dad. She was crying cause she misses her dad. I gave her a hug. She said I squeezed her too hard and kicked me. Then she held my hand," he said.

Yuri was lovably rough with his little friend, but for all his assorted mishaps, the little girl seemed to stay around him whenever possible. She'd been over for a few playdates so far and seemed to follow Yuri around while still fussing at him for being a little brute. He'd won her strange little heart by being sweet and wooing her with his pet tiger and all was well.

Layla was gradually warming up to the idea that her brother could have a girl who was also a friend, as Yuri explained it.

"Well, if she's only your friend who is a girl, and not your girlfriend, you have no reason to be upset if she holds hands with _all_ the boys at the park," his father pressed.

Yuri looked up at him and said, "Dad?"

"What."

"Grow up."

Laxus couldn't help but laugh, "...says my four-year-old son while I make him macaroni and chicken nuggets and we discuss preschool drama about his girlfriend."

Yuri asked, "Did you ever have a girlfriend?"

This question caused his father to pause and wonder what exactly Yuri thought and understood about the nature of their family. "Your mom was my girlfriend. She still is, really."

"Before I was born?"

Laxus nodded. "I met your mom a long time ago. She joined Fairy Tail. She used to go on jobs with Natsu and Gray all the time. She became my girlfriend, and then we decided to get married and raise a family. Then you were born a while after that."

Lucy came in and gave her husband a hug, and bent down to kiss Yuri on the forehead as he sat on the counter. "Did you guys have a good day?"

"Dad says you're his girlfriend."

The blonde smiled at how cute this was, as it seemed like Yuri had a hard time bending his mind around the idea. She stood on her tiptoes and Laxus bent down to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "He's my boyfriend for sure."

Yuri scowled at the sight of his parents kissing.

"What's that face for?" his mother asked.

The preschooler answered, "When you guys kiss...it's gross."

Laxus said, "Just wait until you find out how you got here."

Yuri didn't even hear this as he'd already jumped off the counter and ran to the living room to play with his toys and his tiger.

He was sitting there surrounded by all his toys when he spoke to the tiger.

"She's not my girlfriend."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _Special thanks to Yed01, Edelweisswhitetiger, pandorababe, wallace11, kurahieiritr JIO, megumiyoung, justloverly, sexyvampires4all, yumeyumi1986, gaia kame, xxshyxx, mewhee89, arouraleona, lunastarlady, w1n6s-0f-f1r3, thornado, tiernank, kennedydreyar, thealicehuntt, helenezahl, deltacaraman, lakeya2700, boyceashlee, katiekat2001, and andy24amk for reviewing!_

AN: Next chapter will be the S-Class exam and then there's going to be a time skip :D


	41. The S-Class Mama

Lucy could remember the first time she heard of Fairy Tail's coveted S-Class honor. It came with prestige and recognition, and access to the once-exclusive upper level of the guild. To be recognized as S-Class meant to be one of the best, and she'd wanted it so badly back then because she was tired of people writing her off like a joke. She could still remember how it felt to be treated as a spoiled little rich girl playing magic.

She wanted to be S-Class.

Through babies and marriage and everything else, her personal dreams were still quite alive. They might have changed, but she knew she wasn't the first woman who still wanted accomplish things for herself.

One thing that surprised her was that it took loyalty to those dreams to hold onto them. It was easy to get lost under the titles: "Wife." "Mother." And the one that held the most power over her was _MAMA!_

But she had three baby girls of her own, and she wanted to achieve her dream not only for herself, but for them, so they'd know they didn't have to chose between this or that. If she could have both, then they could too.

Yet, getting away from them for a few days made her think about them: was Chelia taking good care of them? Were they up at the right time, and in bed at the right time? Were they behaving? Had Mavis' little sniffle developed into a cold?

"The baby's fine. Mavis is a Dreyar and Dreyars don't get sick. And fuck, ugh…" Laxus hung over the edge of the ship.

Lucy snapped out of her thoughts to her husband as he vomited off the edge of the ship. "...you say as you succumb to nausea and barf."

"...what…"

While not running the S-Class trials this year to avoid charges of partiality toward his wife, Laxus had decided to come along and observe from camp. The war with Grimoire Heart had not gone forgotten and he wanted to be around just in case anything went awry.

Lucy hadn't been back to Tenrou Island since the x791 when they reappeared, and when she leapt from the boat and swam ashore ahead of the other participants, she had brief flashbacks.

Every year was different, and this year, the Gildarts instructed them that the first of two events was a race to Tenrou Tree that would disqualify half the candidates. On the beach, she paused briefly to put on her running shoes and then ran soaking wet in her bikini toward the tree, ignoring the sting of the branches against her skin.

Most of the participants in this year's trial were younger or newer, and unfortunately for them, Lucy was from a different class of Fairy Tail wizards. Her generation was the 'suck it up or die' generation, and as they aged into their twenties, they were a tough group from the things they'd had to overcome as teenagers.

In the modern world, there was no such thing as the Balam Alliance, no Zeref, and the removal of the Dark Mage from the world had taken with it countless other threats that were connected to his magic.

It was a somewhat peaceful time in the world of magic, so the Romeo Conbolts of the world didn't know as well as she did what it was like to get in a fight and know all your friends would die if you didn't keep getting up no matter how bad the injuries were. Power was one thing, but Laxus called what they had the 'power to get the fuck up' and make people ask whether or not one was actually human.

So a few twigs snaps on her bare skin meant nothing, although if she'd known this would be the first challenge, she would have worn proper clothes on the ship.

She'd spilled blood on Tenrou Island before, and she didn't mind doing it again.

She really wasn't on any particular route, as Tenrou was unsurprisingly completely overgrown had very few of what might be called paths. But she realized some of the other participants were following her and, unwilling to give up her spot to anyone as it had taken far too long to get there, she purposefully ran toward a rocky gorge up ahead.

There was a seamless transition to Capricorn Star Dress and, channelling her companion the goat, easily navigated down the rocks while Laki and Romeo and Wendy were left on the sidelines.

Wendy, unchallenged by the terrain, used her dragon muscles to jump down to where Lucy was, and the two of them continued on their way, climbing up on the other side. She was from the 'win or die trying' time of Fairy Tail, so she and Lucy cut across the island together, having flashbacks of what happened where.

There were places where the island still bore marks from their battles.

 _That_ was where Lucy and Natsu battled Kain Hikaru, and over there...that was where Bluenote Stinger had left her feeling desperate and weak.

And somehow, while she made her way to the tree, she couldn't help but think about the things that had delayed her in getting there that day.

She'd had a plan before Laxus came along, and in her plan, she'd become S-Class, travel the world, and go on great adventures as a powerful wizard and maybe at some point after that she'd settle down.

Falling in love at the age of nineteen wasn't part of the plan, but when it happened, she embraced it. She'd lived a life that didn't include real affection or love since her mother died, and even though she loved her friends and her guild, it was something else to be _in love_.

It felt special and magical to have a boyfriend, and she could still remember how those first kisses and first touches and first awkward confessions really were. She knew he loved her because he was patient with her anxiety about sex, and because he always listened to her and tried to make her happy. Laxus was a surprisingly wonderful boyfriend, and despite his personality, he really was a considerate and incredible guy to be with.

They talked about the future...she could still remember him asking her if she wanted to have babies and get married and live together with him. Time wore on and those things she wanted in the distant future stopped being things she wanted someday and started becoming the desires of her heart. It happened to him too, and as time went by, they spoke with increasing frequency about the life they could live together and the family they wanted to have.

Eventually an engagement ring came, and Lucy could still remember when he told her he wanted to have a baby.

She almost told him she wanted to wait until after her S-Class trials, and a part of her had second thoughts until the day she'd found out she was pregnant. From the first conversation that mentioned the word 'babies,' she'd thought he'd be a good father, but as her stomach grew she watched him kiss and rub and talk to the little bump.

Lucy could never forget what it was like to be a new bride and pregnant for the first time. Everything was new and exciting, and she discovered more about him and about herself as they prepared to become parents. They decorated a nursery together, and spent countless hours talking about the kind of parents they wanted to be and what their unborn baby might look like.

Their son made an abrupt appearance on a summer morning and the first hands that held him were his father's. They were so happy that day, and they laid in bed just staring at him for days, unable to get over the little miracle of Yuri Dreyar.

Right around the time she was preparing to focus on herself again after seven months of being all about their son, two little pink lines on a pregnancy test informed her that the S-Class trial had been delayed again.

Layla had been unplanned, and frankly, a somewhat embarrassing accident at first. She giggled a little at people giving her husband dirty looks for getting her pregnant again, but having babies back to back was like advertising they'd had a little _oops_.

But that was just how Layla was, really. She was going to come when she wanted to, and she didn't ask anyone for permission. Even the nature of her conception was stubborn and independent. She was in effect saying, "I don't care if you're ready for me. I'm ready for you!"

When Layla was a newborn, they had two tiny kids, and she prioritized her precious babies above her career. She told herself she'd get to it in a year, but in that year, Ivan died, and Makarov had his heart attack, and then Laxus became guildmaster and everything about their lives changed.

Two professional wizards who went on separate jobs, they were often not home at the same time and they'd never gone on a job together. In the new era, she and Laxus started spending almost all day, every day together. Raising babies, going to the guild to work, taking care of the guild members...they became true partners in all things and fell in love all over again during conversations across their desks as they worked through accounting and bickered about nonsense.

That rascal of a man she'd married talked her into a big family and since she wasn't going on jobs anymore, she tried to surprise him with Baby No. 3. This strategy backfired as she was the one that was surprised when Porlyusica told her there were two heartbeats.

And then there were four.

If it had been easy to get into shape after one baby, it was harder after two. But twins? Carrying twins was a whole different story as the last two months came with the grotesque transformation of her hips and pelvic region as her body struggled to accommodate her pregnancy.

That was how she ended up taking the S-Class exam several years late and why she was busy thinking about her four kids and not about the monster she'd run into on the way to Tenrou Tree.

By the time she completed her thought process, she'd summoned two spirits, incapacitated it with a whip, and left Loke and Taurus to their grand work.

Wendy was stunned when she caught up to Lucy, because Lucy seemed so calm, like she was busy thinking about something else.

Then again, Lucy had some 'Mom Magic,' as Makarov called it.

At any given moment Lucy was always doing at least five things at one time. Wendy had seen her cooking dinner while reviewing expenses as she held Yuri on one hip and answered Layla's thousand questions while keeping the twins entertained.

Anyone who saw Lucy in her element knew there was no one like her in the world and as she moved ahead, Wendy noted she had extremely powerful arms from wagging around babies, which were actually pretty heavy, especially the oldest one who was an unrepentant mama's boy and constantly wanted her attention at times.

Lucy was unfazed and unflappable, made wiser by the years and tempered by rough experiences as a wizard during darker days followed by the motherhood experience.

Scared of a monster jumping out of nowhere?

Only scary to someone who didn't have two kids that licked electric outlets.

Wendy struggled to keep up, amazed at Lucy in this form. She knew Lucy had been training hard, but everyone just assumed that because she hadn't been going on jobs that there would be some kind of gap in her skills. Instead, Lucy was mentally in a more mature, controlled place and she paced herself well.

She made the sprint seem effortless, addressing every miscellaneous challenge with practiced grace and ease, because that's what being the mother of a houseful of kids did.

Lucy panted as she touched the bark of the tree and felt a somewhat relieved 'am I already here?'

Romeo and Wendy came skidding to a stop at the tree a full four minutes later.

"M-Monster…" Romeo said.

"Huh?"

Lucy coolly laughed at their wonder; she knew everyone thought she'd gone a little soft.

But:

"Romeo, I'm not sure how you, an eighteen-year-old guy probably in the best shape you will ever be in, let a twenty-five year old of mom of four outrun you. Pretty sure you should be asking yourself some serious questions right about now."

It actually made her happy to best the Conbolt boy, because he'd become quite self-assured and cocky as he grew into a man. This attitude could be a little bit annoying, especially to Wendy, with whom he often went on jobs.

He'd made a comment in the guildhall about competing with a 'soccer mom' at the S-Class trials.

Romeo panted as he leaned against the tree. "Aren't you tired?"

"Tired?"

"Yeah, like, you just ran like two miles through the jungle, climbed down into a rocky pit, and then climbed back up again, like…you should be exhausted!" he started, but he was simply at a loss.

Lucy gave him a pat on the head. "That word means something completely different to anyone who has ever had newborn twins. It's a shame, losing to a _soccer mom_."

When the others caught up with them, Gildarts knew why Laxus had excused himself from conducting these trials. He felt like every time he came home over the past few years, Lucy was pregnant _and_ had a baby in her arms at the same time. They were a family of six, and she'd temporarily put some things she wanted for herself on hold while they were growing their family, but as she faced the S-Class trial, she was calm, composed, in great shape, and more than qualified.

It was more than a little impressive, especially when Gildarts considered how smart she was and how much she else she was able to do. He believed the source of their children's raw potential probably mostly came from their mother.

He really had no idea how Makarov's jerk of a grandson grew up so well anyway. The older wizard believed that Lucy was to blame for his domestication and success as an individual, husband, and even guild master. Without her, Laxus never would have come so far in life.

And now she was proving that she wasn't just strong with guild administration or when it came to their family. She was more of a kickass wizard than she'd ever been, having grown more mature over the years and developed a temperament that helped her fighting game significantly.

In some ways, Gildarts viewed it as a 'fuck you' to the idea that just because a woman took some time off from active fighting to raise a family, that she would be less of a wizard.

Besides, she'd just run halfway across Tenrou Island in a bikini, and she looked pretty damn good for a mother of four.

"Laxus is such a lucky bastard," Gildarts mumbled.

Lucy smiled. "What's next?"

"Lunch!" he chuckled.

She really didn't care at all about sandwiches, only fighting and finally becoming S-Class. But sandwiches would give her a little extra strength, so they headed back up the path to where the others were setting up base camp.

Lucy learned that of the ten participants, five had been disqualified for not making it to the tree, which meant the only ones left were Wendy, Romeo, Bixlow, Jet, and Lucy. The first test was designed to allow for only five people to advance.

During the next phase, she would choose one of five paths and end up in a brawl with one of five S-Class wizards Gildarts selected: Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Erza, or Gajeel.

The real twist was this:

Each of the five participants had a choice. They could select a current S-Class wizard from Levy, Freed, Cana, Max, or Elfman and their objective would be to defeat their opponent.

OR

They could fight alone and the only goal would be to push them to a specific place and knock them down. If they knocked her down first, she would lose.

Lucy thought about it for a long time, trying to weigh her options. She considered partnering with Levy or Cana. She considered Elfman or Freed or Max. Then she decided that the real test wasn't the fight; it was this decision and maybe a little luck.

With _any_ partner, Lucy believed only Juvia was completely defeatable. So if she chose to take a partner, she would only pass the exam if she encountered Juvia, which meant she only had a twenty percent chance of passing the trial.

By herself, she only had to push her opponent back and make them fall. It was intimidating to face any of them alone, but it was a test of confidence that she could face a difficult opponent and stand.

Laxus sat down next to her while she was absentmindedly eating from a sack lunch that included two sandwiches and some chips. She was sitting a little secluded from the group, which meant she was thinking.

"I heard you were first," he said.

"I'm thinking right now," she curtly replied, staring off into space as she ran simulations in her mind of each match.

"I knew it."

"Shhh."

Laxus was amused, and he wanted to give her space to think. After a few minutes, he knew she was over-thinking the situation and that wouldn't go well for her because she was prone to changing her mind over self-doubt. She had excellent instincts and he knew she already knew what to do.

"Let's have another baby," he said.

The blonde jerked out of her thoughts and she turned her head and glared at him angrily. "What is wrong with you?"

"Just wanted you to pay attention to me, that's all."

She grinned at him. "You're so sweet. Want a bite?"

He was confused by this sudden sweetness but decided to play along. He opened his mouth and she abruptly shoved an entire sandwich in his mouth, then mashed it in with the palm of her hand.

"MMauughggffff!"

"That's the only thing I want to hear you say for the rest of the day. Today is my day. I know you can't live without my attention, so let me do this, and then tonight take care of you," she said.

When he finally managed to swallow, he said, "Can I get a definition on 'take care of?' I'd like to try-"

"Nope," she quickly answered, "we are never doing that ever."

"But-"

She said, "Butt is right. My butt, my rules. And rule number one is 'NO.' Do you know what rule number two is?"

"What."

"Hell No."

"Is there a third rule?" he asked.

Lucy stood up and gave him a pat on the head. "Yes. I'm glad you asked. Rule number three is if you ask about rules one or two, I get to take a hot bath and go to bed early and you can jerk off alone by yourself in the bathroom. Any questions?"

He shook his head. "No questions, only disappointment."

She kissed him on the cheek. "You're such a good husband. I love you and I really do appreciate how much you support my dreams. But it's not happening."

"I'll never give up."

"Have fun with that."

The wizard gave him a pat on the shoulder and shook her head as she paced around a little waiting for her food to settle. She stretched and thought about life, and worried about Mavis and her sniffle a bit more.

When it was time for the last stage to start, everyone was a little astonished that she'd chosen to compete alone. All the other competitors chose a partner and Lucy believed the only one who would pass was whoever arrived at Juvia, unless she was the one. If she encountered Juvia, she knew her chances of winning were low because knocking down someone made from water was quite a task.

Gildarts gave pointed them to a crossroads where five paths broke off and told them all to pick a number, although no explanation was given to what the numbers might mean, if anything.

Five was the number of years she'd been waiting to take the exam, so she picked that one and began a long solo trek across the island.

On the way there, she ran into a several monsters, a pitfall, assorted geographic challenges, quicksand, and a swamp. Tenrou Island was such a strange place with all it's little pockets that didn't seem like they should be next to one another.

She thought about her life, and her kids, and _sadly enough_ , about anal sex. And she didn't want to because she knew in the future, she was going to look back on her memories and someone was going to ask what she thought and felt on that day. She would have to lie because she wasn't about to admit she was considering the pros and cons of butt sex in the hour before her S-Class certification.

Married life was so weird!

And then she saw a figure awaiting her on the beach when she reached the end of the path.

She smiled, and he smiled back.

"Natsu!"

"Luigi!"

Behind Natsu, there was a glowing rune carved into the sand.

"Alright. All you have to do to pass this trial and become S-Class is either defeat me, or make it so I fall down behind this line. If I knock you off your feet or defeat you, the test is over. I'm not going to go easy on you," he said.

Lucy nodded in understanding. "I would expect as much."

It seemed right that it would be Natsu and no one else, since it was Natsu and no one else who brought her into the world of Fairy Tail. Now he'd be the one to open the door for her as an S-Class wizard if she could just move him back and knock him down.

Natsu waited patiently for her to start the match.

She moved, so her back was at an angle to the water, and then she summoned Taurus and Sagittarius. She used Leo Star Dress and watched Natsu rush forward to her spirits. He deftly dodged arrows and quickly sent Taurus back to the celestial spirit realm, and then surged forward to handle Sagittarius.

He _knew_ this wasn't Lucy's game. She was smart, so whatever he was doing, it was only a prelude to what her actual plan was. When he moved in close, she summoned Loke in an instant and before he knew it, they'd used Regulus magic to blind him for a few seconds.

When he stumbled sideways, he stomped into a wave.

Water.

Water.

Water.

Water.

Water.

His heart started pounding because he knew he'd fucked up.

You don't fight Lucy Dreyar next to a body of water, because she was ten times more dangerous.

His vision was just starting to return when he felt a Lucy Kick to his side right into a wall of water. Suddenly he was swept out into the sea and spinning, spinning, spinning, in a vortex of water thrown from Aquarius' vessel.

His stomach turned, and he clenched his eyes shut as he was swept further out.

This was Lucy, and Lucy played her advantages.

What she didn't have in raw power she made up for with intelligence that was second to none.

Aquarius made him so sick he threw up in the water and then abruptly threw him towards the shore. He collided mid-air with Lucy's foot and came crashing down, skull-first on a sharp rock.

The good news was that it happened on the other side of the line, and he was done for the count. The rune that caused the line to glow emitted a tall tower of light, signaling to the main camp that someone had successfully passed their trial.

Lucy dove next to him, but he was out, and there was blood on the back of his head.

She didn't have anymore magic power left or she would have made Capricorn carry him. With no other choice, she hefted him up and and balanced him awkwardly as she started back to the camp.

Ultimately, when Lucy was retelling the story about how she became S-Class, she'd tell her children that the hardest part wasn't the foot race, or the battle; it was dragging Natsu's disgustingly hot, sweaty, dead weight halfway across Tenrou Island.

After a while, he groaned and opened his eyes, then clenched them shut. "O-Oww. Go easy on me next time, Luigi."

"Are you sure you want to be calling me that? There are plenty of sharp rocks for me to crack your head on," she answered.

"Sorry, I'll be good. Am I heavy?"

She grinned. "It's okay. I'm used to carrying big babies around all day."

Lucy heard a noise and Gray stepped onto the path.

"You guys are late. Gildarts send me to find you," he said, taking Natsu who leaned on his shoulder until Gray punched him in the stomach. "Suck it up, will you? Making a woman carry you around, you deserve to get your ass kicked."

"You want to fight?" Natsu weakly said.

Gray shook his head. "This guy…Anyway, congratulations, Lucy."

"For what?"

"Lucy? Do you not realize? You just passed your S-Class exam," he said.

The blonde pointed at herself. "M-Me? I-I guess I did. I...I'm S-Class?"

She turned and ran down toward base camp and when she spotted her favorite dragon, she collided with him so hard he almost fell. Lucy let out a scream of triumph against her husband's chest and squeezed him as tightly as she could, feet dangling off the ground.

"Congratulations, Babe. You've deserved this for a long time. I know you've been waiting for a long time," he said as he hugged her back.

When he put her down, she was calm for a second, and then jumped right back into his arms again.

"I love you so much. Thank you for supporting me," she said.

"I love you too," she answered as his hand drifted downward.

Lucy's expression deadpanned as he held her against his chest. "I will punch you in the stomach if you grab my butt in front of everyone."

He did it anyway, and she made good on her promise.

Gildarts interrupted them. "I see you two are trying for baby number six or seven or whatever number you're on now, but our newest S-Class wizard should really celebrate with her guild first."

Lucy nodded. "Sorry. Right. Who else made S-Class?"

"You're the only one that passed Stage Two," Laxus said.

Lucy suddenly looked around and found the others who started the same journey with her that morning had come to an end of disappointment. There was a part of her that felt something not unlike pity, but she knew there was a time and a place for everyone to advance. Her time had been after everyone else's, but it didn't make her less of a wizard.

They boarded the ship back to Hargeon, and once there, after showers and changes of clothes, went to the private room of a local restaurant to party on and reminisce about all that had come before and reflect on all that was going to come after.

Natsu rebounded spectacularly well in true dragon form and Lucy had a couple of glasses of champagne with him that left her feeling warm, dizzy, and then two more with Laxus.

Then she had a couple of more glasses of champagne, and a little more after that…

By the time Laxus carried her piggyback to their hotel room, she was nothing but giggles and kisses. "Honestly, Lucy, getting drunk…"

She bit down on his ear and pulled.

"You better be nice. I'll bite you back."

"Maybe I'd like that," she purred.

And suddenly, he took a short detour down a dark alley, then around a corner to a narrow, dark place where no one was in sight. Lucy slid off his back and he pinned her against the brick wall of a closed store, reaching under her skirt for her panties.

It felt like it had been an eternity since they'd fucked in an inappropriate place. He unbuttoned his pants and pushed his boxers down a little.

She always felt so good.

Her body was never anything short of perfect to him and she was never anything less than the best he'd ever had, everytime.

Sex was actually better in the phase of life after they were done having kids and they didn't have to worry about getting pregnant or not getting pregnant.

And once they'd finished, he carried her home, helped her undress, and tucked her in.

XXX

Upon arrival home, they were greeted by screams of excited children.

Yuri ran and jumped, and Lucy caught him and raised him to her hip.

"You're getting kind of big, you know," she said.

Yuri asked, "Are you the strongest, Mama?!"

Laxus nodded. "She beat Natsu up so bad she had to drag him home."

Her son smiled. "I knew you were the best!"

Laxus rolled his eyes. "Babe, put him down. No son of mine is going to be a titty baby."

His wife glared at him. "I'll stop when you stop."

Laxus already had Layla and Anna in his arms, and Mavis was standing up holding onto the leg of a table near the door. "I will never stop."

"Good, we've agreed then."

He looked down at Mavis and said, "Oh, you think you're grown now since you can stand up and give me that look?"

Her mother beamed at her. "I think the Aloof One missed us."

Yuri slid to the ground and said, "Daddy and Mama are back. It's okay."

He offered his baby sister a hand and she took one shaky step, then another, and Lucy snatched her up from the ground and felt her claw at her clothes and wrap around her tightly, holding onto her mother as well as she could.

And then she cried just because she was pissed off her parents left her.

There was snuggles, and playtime after that, and then the couple made a nice dinner and ate with their little ones, the nanny, and Makarov.

Bedtime stories were read, snuggles were had, babies were tucked in, and finally the husband and wife made their way to their bedroom. More snuggles were had and Lucy sighed contentedly.

"So about that thing you wanted to do…I've decided we can try it one time, but if you get it wrong, you can never speak of it again," she said.

His eyebrows rose. "Can I be completely honest about something?"

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

Laxus looked over at her. "I don't even want to. I just keep asking because I know it pisses you off to no end. I can't believe I actually talked you into it."

Lucy sighed, rolled over so she was facing the wall. "You've been pissing me off on purpose _for two years_ about something you don't even want to do? Don't talk to me right now."

He reached an arm around her to snuggle, and she slapped it.

"So, you were going to let me have anal, but now I can't snuggle."

"Leave me alone, Laxus!"

He snuggled up to her anyway, and she let him anyway. By this point, she knew he was just going to be a jerk and an idiot and she was fine with that. He was an amazing husband and a great father, and whatever he did to annoy her was nothing compared to how much he loved and supported her.

She really did enjoy it when he bothered her and she still didn't know why after all their years together.

They drifted off to sleep, thinking about their family, their guild, and their future together.

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _Special thanks to yumeyumi1986, Toreh, edelweisswhitetiger, arouraleona, satisfied reader, boyceashlee, andy24amk, julius knight, kurahieiritr JIO, pandorababe, deltacaraman, jhdavis1103, aoutre, dogsrcool5, mewhee89, guest, helenezahl, megumiyoung, guest, lakeya2700, titaniazoe, thornado, sarasugarbug17, the alicehuntt, katiekat2001, killer-kelly420, and savygirl1515 for reviewing!_

 _ **Next up: Time Skip!**_


	42. The Next Decade

**Ten Years Later**

Awkward: Walking in on your son masturbating.

More Awkward: Being the son.

Lucy had a basket of folded laundry and she didn't think her son was home as he hadn't come out of his room since she'd come home. She entered his room and he was laying on the bed handling his business. She screamed and dropped the basket.

"M-Mom!"

She screeched, and stood there in shock for a few seconds before covering her eyes and running out, slamming the door behind her.

Yuri Dreyar was so embarrassed he didn't even know what to do. He thought he'd locked the door, but apparently he hadn't. His mother never came in without knocking, so as he quickly put his clothes back in order, he considered what he could possibly say to her.

He picked up the laundry and refolded it, and then went downstairs with the basket.

His mother was in the kitchen, looking at a recipe although her mind was actually just completely frazzled by what she'd just witnessed.

"M-Mom?"

She turned and saw him standing there with the laundry basket. "Hi son. Welcome home from school. Did you have a good day?"

He nodded.

Lucy was a little bit more than horrified, and was almost paralyzed by disbelief.

Yuri was the kind of son everyone wished they had. He was kind, gentle, mild-mannered, and he loved and protected all his little sisters. In the days after having a nanny and Makarov, he was an important part of their family and they could count on him to cook dinner sometimes or to look after all the other kids if she and Laxus were gone for some reason.

How could her perfect son be a masterbator?! Of course, that didn't make him a bad person, but it was a little hard to reconcile her cute little baby boy with the half-grown man working out his sexual frustration.

Lucy took the basket, looked down, and said, "You didn't wash your hands, did you?"

Yuri sighed. "Mom…"

She hauled the basket straight back into the laundry room, dumped it in the washer, and poured copious amounts of bleach in before restarting them. "So what do you want for dinner?"

"I'll eat anything, you know that."

There was a long, awkward moment, and Yuri retreated back to his bedroom. He wondered if his mother had seen the photograph of Lilia Eucliffe on the bed. Hopefully not. The only thing that would have been worse than her knowing was her knowing he had a picture of Lilia in her underwear and that he put it to such use.

On his first job, he'd been really unlucky and ended up nearly being eviscerated by a demon. The level of discomfort he felt about his mother knowing he masturbated was not unlike the feeling of the beast's claw puncturing his torso and pulling so hard he was sure his guts were about to fall on his feet.

Downstairs, Laxus came home, and found none of his daughters were home. That usually meant they were at the soda shop with 'the boys,' Iggy and Sam. It was irregular for his son to not be with his sisters, but they were reaching an age where they did things on their own occasionally so he didn't think anything about it.

And then he came into the kitchen and found Lucy hacking at an onion with a butcher knife with tears streaming down her face because the onion was stinging her eyes. She looked up at him and blurted out, "Our son masturbates."

At forty, Laxus had learned to more or less take life in stride but when Lucy said this, he couldn't help but burst out laughing because she looked so absurd.

Lucy looked up at him, and waved the knife. "What's so funny?"

"Lucy, our son is fifteen. It would be weird if he didn't," he answered as he sat down on a barstool.

Over the past decade, he'd lost almost all the color in his hair, and now sported a full head of spiky white hair that was flecked with gold in places. Rather than blaming genetics, he felt it was appropriate to assign raising children and being guildmaster the scapegoats. Lucy had some grays too, but she dyed her hair in secret every few weeks.

Lucy said, "Could you have a talk with him?"

"We've already had all the talks, Babe. You brought it on yourself. I told you if we kept feeding him he was going to stop being little and cute eventually. He's turning into a man."

Yuri already towered over his mother and was well on his way to achieving his lifelong dream of being taller than his father. He was built like Laxus, with broad shoulders and a chiseled jaw.

His mother ran out of onion to take her rage out on, and after throwing the chopped onion into a pan to fry, said, "He has a girlfriend. What if…"

"He's not having sex."

"How do you know?"

Laxus said, "Watch him with Lilia. He's an idiot with her. Keep in mind this is the kid who was scared shitless of little girls until he was four."

Lucy knew this was true, but she was still unnerved. "Does he know about condoms?"

"No, when we had the talk, I told him if he wants to have sex to just wish really hard nothing bad happens and he'll be fine," her husband replied.

She threw the knife and stuck it in the wall next to his head and he didn't so much as flinch as this was a common occurrence. The wall was actually full of holes from his habitual trollings. His daughter Layla referred to his barstool as the throne of the Troll King of Magnolia.

"Laxus! I am being so serious! Our baby boy is horny!"

Said baby boy was coming around the corner when he heard this, and ducked behind the wall before retreating back to his bedroom. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die, and all he needed was a shovel, or maybe Virgo as she could probably make him a nice little burrow for his death from embarrassment.

Yuri had always been a mama's boy since the beginning of time, so it was terrible for him to know his mom saw him doing such a thing or that she was currently having a talk with his father about their 'horny' son.

He stopped on the way to his room and opened the door to the bedroom where Makarov used to live.

Yuri knew if his great-grandfather was still around, he'd be laughing his ass off about his misfortune.

It had been a year since his great grandfather died suddenly in his sleep. That had been a sad, difficult time for them, and sometimes, he was still sad.

He saw his dad cry that day.

The family had another loss a couple of years prior that while not as severe, had given them their first lessons about death. Raijin the tiger was buried under her favorite tree in the backyard and occasionally, Yuri still went by and left little piles of Cheerios on the engraved stone and watched little birds come and pick them up.

After that was the empty room where Chelia used to live before she and Wendy finally moved in together on their own a few years before that. They were still very close to the family, like aunts.

Life had changed a lot as they'd grown up, but there were some things that were the same. He still had his parents and his sisters, and Lilia Eucliffe, she was the same and yet different. Sometimes they kissed, and once she let him touch her left breast. He was really glad his mom didn't know about that, because it might be too much for her to know their baby boy was not only a horny masturbator, but also a boob groper.

This was all fairly normal for someone his age, but because he was the oldest, he had to deal with his parents going through the uneasy process of having to accept him as a young man and not the chubby little baby they fell in love with.

Meanwhile, the three Dreyar girls had finished their normal afternoon soda with the boys, and stopped at a boutique that was conveniently sandwiched between the soda shop and their house. It was convenient for them and inconvenient for their father who found himself constantly funding after-school shopping trips. He complained about these excursions daily yet never told them 'no.'

Mavis wasn't really one for the shopping scene, but some boys across the river were playing kickball and that seemed like fun.

She was a creature of contradiction, but her parents were always content to let her be whoever she was. While she didn't mind dresses, she preferred sportier attire. Tiny with inhuman speed, she was a little bit more dragon than human at times. She was nearly completely carnivorous, and had a patch of scales on one cheek as well as behind an ear and down her back.

She was the most aggressive of the brood, and usually the one who started fights.

Her dark blonde hair was pulled in a ponytail as she made her way to the park in a plaid skirt and blazer, her school uniform.

She was passing over the small bridge that stretched over the river when her senses alerted to someone approaching her.

Mavis turned and found a boy with green hair standing behind her. He was shirtless, and had a cocky grin on his face.

"Hey, little girl."

"I don't talk to strangers, and you're definitely strange," she answered.

He put his hands on his hips. "I'm Orga J Nanagear the Second, Son of Lightning God Slayer Orga!"

The eleven-year-old blinked in confusion. "Never heard of him. 'Has been' or 'Never was?'"

"My dad is the most famous lightning wizard in the world."

Mavis bristled at the arrogant claim against their dragon blood. "What world? The world where you can't buy a shirt before you run up on little girls and act like a creep?"

"I came here following the scent of a dragon. I'm looking for the son of the Thunder Dragonslayer!"

Mavis suddenly felt a burning desire to punch this obnoxious kid in his smirking mouth. "He's my brother."

'Little Orga,' as his father called him, was wielding a copy of Sorcerer Weekly that named Yuri as the most powerful male wizard under the age of twenty. He was also voted the most handsome by voters under the age of 18.

"I'm gonna show him who is the best! The lightning of a god against the lightning of a little lizard! Then I'll be at the top. I'll have all the girls!"

Mavis started to unbutton her blazer as she glared at the fourteen-year-old in anger. "Yuri is popular because he's strong and handsome. You look like you were in a really sad accident but everyone is afraid to tell you because they don't want to hurt your feelings."

Orga smirked. "You know what? You're pretty cute. I like feisty girls."

"I'm going to hurt you. So don't act surprised, because it's annoying."

The boy smirked and confidently said, "I have an idea. We'll fight and if I win, you have to be my girl."

Mavis laid the blazer over the railing, and then when she moved, she moved so fast he didn't see it coming.

By the time the other Dreyar girls had completed their shopping, she'd put her blazer back on and mentioned nothing of the stranger she'd met.

Once they arrived home, they found a familiar scene. Their father was sitting at the kitchen counter annoying Lucy while she cooked dinner. This was their routine, although sometimes he cooked and she sat and bothered him.

The doorbell rang not long after they were inside and Layla and Anna were showing their mother their new purchases while Laxus looked on just in case he needed to offer any objections.

Laxus got up and answered the door, and Mavis saw the elder Orga.

The two men talked for a minute, and Orga said he suspected his son took a job in Magnolia so he could pick a fight with Yuri. Laxus called his son down, and Yuri knew nothing about it, so he turned to his daughters.

"Girls, did you run into anybody that looks like this guy?"

Layla and Anna shook their heads.

"Orga J Nanagear the Second?" Mavis asked.

Orga smiled, "That's right, cutie. You ran into my son?"

Mavis smiled back and innocently answered, "He said I was cute, so I beat him up and threw him in the river. He's probably halfway to Clover by now."

Laxus cringed not only at the act itself, but at the lack of remorse and the presence of excitement and satisfaction in her tone. She turned and went upstairs after announcing this.

The green-haired wizard said, "She's kind of small to have taken down my son. He's powerful."

"She's a monster," her father said, without mentioning what it was about Mavis that made her so damn scary.

Orga decided to go find his son, but his male ego was a little insulted that his son not only lost to one of the Dreyar brood, but the little one. He would never admit to that and he honestly didn't want his son picking a rivalry with anyone, but if he had to get his ass kicked, he would hope it would be by someone over four feet tall and at least seventy pounds.

Laxus thought about asking his daughter why she beat up a boy for saying she was cute, but he was just so damn relieved at least one of his daughters was reluctant.

As for the other two? Boy crazy, and it was absolutely sickening to their father.

The doorbell rang again, and he sighed. The older the kids became, the more traffic came to and from their house, which happened to be centrally located in the middle of everyone else. They had a big backyard, and a swimming pool, which Laxus considered a very regrettable purchase because it meant his girls laid around in swimsuits and this in turn attracted boys to their house.

If had to have one more argument about what age a bikini became appropriate…

He was grumbling under his breath when he opened the door to Gildarts.

"You're back. How did it go?"

He laughed. "Not so good. Failed my last job."

"Did you at least come back with all your body parts this time?" he said, allowing the tall, gray-and-red-headed wizard to enter the house.

"I guess that part was a success…"

The kids rushed him and even Yuri came downstairs to greet the most powerful wizard in Fairy Tail.

He was retiring from jobs to be a full-time mentor at the guild and also to spoil his own grandson, a chubby little red-headed three-year-old that looked strikingly like his grandfather. He had been referred to since birth as Crash, and very few people knew what was actually inked on the birth certificate. Since the name written there was 'Gildarts Alberona Groh,' Laxus believed it might be best if they just kept calling him Crash.

Gildarts pulled an envelope from his cape. "While I was out, I did a little side job and as part of my recompense, this guy gave me these concert tickets to see some band called SonicBam? Have you guys heard of them?"

Laxus cringed with the same dread he might have if he came downstairs to make breakfast and found the zombified form of Hades sitting at the kitchen table waiting on a waffle. SonicBam was only the most popular boy band in all of the world, and he knew this because he had three girls and two of them would sit around and listen to their music for hours.

Layla and Anna had posters, fan books, albums, and actually spent time arguing about which of these pubescent he-creatures was most attractive.

Gildarts smiled and said, "I talked to your dad, and he said he'd love to take you. It would be a real fun father-daughter bonding experience."

Not only had this conversation never happened, but Laxus found this was terrible on a level that he didn't know how to process.

But suddenly he had girls hugging him and screaming and telling him what an awesome dad he was, and he didn't have the heart to tell them otherwise. He'd been caught in Gildarts' senseless, pointless, and unnecessary trolling, and he knew he'd lost.

They ran upstairs, Yuri stalked his mother from behind the corner to see if maybe she'd forgotten the afternoon's event, and Laxus glared at Gildarts, who just smirked.

"Geezer, why are you fucking with me? Their music sounds like a constant loop of a toddler crying while an anvil rolls down a flight of stairs."

Gildarts laughed. "Your grandfather asked me to. He said when he's gone to make sure I give you a lot of shit."

"...why…"

"...and I quote, 'Because he deserves it.'"

Laxus crossed his arms. "I hope your peg leg breaks."

"That would suck, but not as bad as having to sit through several hours of SonicBam, surrounded by screaming girls," he replied.

The older man left as he had no other business but to ruin Laxus' day, and when Laxus went to the kitchen to recount his sorrows, he found his son had vanished again, unable to face his mother after the incident.

Lucy giggled at the idea of her husband at a boy band concert. It was really the most perfect thing in the world to her, because he knew he loved their girls and would do anything to make them happy. He complained to her often about the album they'd replayed at least five hundred times, but never to them.

Ah, the image of Laxus Dreyar...at a boy band concert! She just kept thinking about it and giggling.

The dryer buzzed and Laxus left his giggling wife to throw the contents into a basket. He wasn't really a folder, but he was good at wadding up stuff so it fit in small spaces.

He then had a basket filled with the contents of the delicate cycle: bras and panties of various sizes, most of them itty bitty. There was an aspect to raising little girls that was very strange, because he continually remembered back to his teenage years and considered how he felt about girls during that time. As a father, one of his greatest fears was that his daughters would encounter someone like him along the way: horny, aggressive, and weird.

Of course, his girls were smart, and they didn't have a problem with saying or doing whatever they needed to. The girls, and not the boy, had proven most likely to bust somebody up. They were like their mother: smart and beautiful and so full of talent.

The thing they were most proud of as parents wasn't how well the did in school, or how accomplished they were as wizards. It was the fact that they stuck together so tightly, since they were tiny. Lucy always said it was because their son was patient with them, they learned to be patient with each other. He was definitely their leader, and there wasn't a day that went by where he hadn't seen how they followed after their big brother.

When dinnertime came, there was a strange awkward tension in the air because Yuri couldn't look his mother in the eyes. This just made her want to talk to him more, and she definitely didn't want him to feel bad, so once they were done eating, she asked him to help with the dishes.

Yuri hated washing dishes.

He was also afraid of being alone with his mother.

He looked up at his father, as if begging escape, but Laxus declined and retreated to his home office to do paperwork.

The door creaked open after a few minutes and he found his youngest.

"Whatcha doing, Dad?"

"Paperwork. Are you excited for this concert?"

Mavis said, "I already have to listen to it all the time. It's terrible. But I'll go, just in case it's fun. And you'll go, because you don't like us to have fun without you."

"You have me all figured out, huh?"

"We can stick magic putty in our ears. It's much better that way."

He mouth turned up a little. "I think sometimes you're really the most like me. I was combative and mischievous and I liked to fight when I was your age."

"You're still like that, Dad," she said as she sat in the chair across from his desk.

Laxus leaned back and asked, "So, why'd you throw Baby Orga in the river? You didn't do that thing to him, did you?"

"He wanted to show off how great his lightning is, so yes I did."

He shook his head. "His dad was the same way. Came around crowing about his God lightning. He hasn't bothered me since then, but it always amuses me how much kids are like their parents. You're aggressive and he's an idiot."

Mavis said, "He was kind of cute, Dad."

Laxus had never, ever not one time in his life, heard his youngest make any kind of reference like this. It was immediately bothersome, as he already had two girls who had entered the 'boy crush' stage of life. He scowled at her, and then asked the more important question.

"You thought he was cute, so you beat him up and threw him in the river?"

"Is that bad?"

"That's how I'd prefer all of you deal with boys. But really, Mavis? Him. Of all the people in the whole world?"

Mavis said, "Don't worry. He was pretty but stupid. I don't date stupid guys."

"You're eleven. You don't date at all."

"I won't be a kid forever. I'm growing up."

"You're four feet tall."

"But I have little boobs now."

Laxus brought a palm to his face. "Mavis…"

She stood up, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I love it when you make that face. Goodnight, Dad."

As soon as she left, he realized her sole objective in visiting his office was to troll him and sighed. After messing with his kids growing up, they were all starting to reach the age where they could turn the tables and get on his last nerve.

Downstairs, Yuri was staring into a sink full of bubbles while he quietly washed the dishes, then handed them to his mother.

Lucy had been thinking long and hard about how to talk to her son about what had taken place, but Yuri would have preferred they never speak of it, ever.

"Son, I just want you to know that you didn't do anything wrong. It's perfectly normal for a person your age to explore their body and find out what makes them feel good."

Yuri cringed so hard a tremble rolled down his spine. "Mom, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. You can masturbate if you want to. You're a growing boy. That's just a normal thing that people do, and there's nothing wrong with you for doing it."

He wondered if she knew how uncomfortable, and weird it was to have this conversation with her. The idea that she was giving her permission and acceptance to do something he'd prefer she not even know about was upsetting at best. And a part of him wondered how he'd ever get down to it again now that he had a memory of his mother telling him it was okay to jerk off.

His mother looked up at him, and found a worried, tense look on her son's face. "You're not sexually active, are you? I mean, with someone besides yourself."

Yuri went back to scrubbing a pot and wondered when this hell of a conversation would end. "Of course not."

"Do you and Lilia mess around? I'd prefer you not, but if you have to, be safe."

He didn't know if touching her breast through her clothes one time classified as messing around, and even if it did, he would never admit that to his mother. Because she was his mother, the person who coddled and loved him and took good care of him. There were some things a boy discussed with his father, much like the girls only discussed certain subjects with their mother.

"Mom, I'm not doing anything."

He was grateful when they ran out of dishes and she gave him a big hug, wrapping her arms around him tightly. He'd gotten tall enough she could rest her head on his shoulder, so she snuggled him a bit and he sighed.

"You're growing up, my sweet Thunderbaby."

"Mom, this is so weird."

Lucy looked up and asked, "Well, what do you want me to say?"

He sighed. "I don't know, Mom."

She snuggled back up to him. "You're the awkward one. You've been just like this since you were a little baby." She reached up to pinch his cheek, "Aren't you my little cutie?"

"Mom!"

"I remember when you were a cute little boy and you were so scared of girls. If we went to the store and you saw another little girl, you'd hide behind my legs….and now you masturbate."

"MOM!"

In parenting teenagers and preteens, there was a certain degree of mutual grief exchanged. They messed with their parents, their parents messed with them. There were times when it seemed like it was adults versus kids, and it was for the most part good fun and a great way to navigate through all the interesting parenting challenges that had come and gone over the years.

Lucy was so proud of her son because he was growing up to be such a good man, but he was still hilariously aloof and serious. Sometimes it was hard not to give him a hard time because it was just so easy and she loved to watch him squirm.

He escaped, and went to the basement to lift weights. Exercise was a great way to work out the stresses of that came with realizing one was the dragon son of two trolls. It also helped alleviate the burden of being old enough to want to have sex, but too young to actually do it.

Besides, he liked how he felt and looked with muscle.

Lilia liked it too, and he felt awesome, frustered, and a little nauseated when his girlfriend complimented him.

He was bench pressing magic weights when he heard the basement door open and the familiar sounds of his father making his way down the stairs.

"Dad."

"Son."

They always had routines, little things they did together every day.

Upstairs, it was a woman's world all day long. The basement smelled like men and the girls were generally not invited to enter the sacred ground of the family's sole males.

Laxus approached his son and looked down at him. "Can you at least lock the door next time?"

Yuri rested the weight. "Do we have to talk about this? I just had a really awful conversation with Mom about it."

"How bad?"

He sat up. "She pinched my cheeks, called me Thunder Baby, and told me how it's normal for me to explore my body."

Laxus laughed at his embarrassed son's misfortune. "That's terrible. And great. Your mom loves you."

"You say that like you don't."

"You guys have been giving me a lot of shit today, so I'm on the fence about whether or not I like kids," his father answered, "I'm kind of annoyed by this whole puberty thing and if I could, I'd keep you all at around age seven for the rest of your lives: old enough to do certain things for yourself, but not old enough to be obnoxious and not old enough to want to hang posters of grown men on your walls."

Yuri furrowed his brows. "I don't think I've ever done that."

Laxus glared at his son. "I'm sure you know someone that has. Even Mavis is acting up."

"They're girls, Dad."

They began their daily ritual of lifting weights and discussing life, and Laxus found his son's mind had become a somewhat tangled mess. Puberty had hit Yuri sort of like a freight train running over a bicycle, and in the past year, his voice had changed, he'd grown a foot, and there were some hairs sticking out of his chin that probably needed to be addressed soon.

"You need to shave."

Yuri rubbed his chin. "Can't I let it grow?"

"Six hairs is cat whiskers, not a beard," he replied.

For a minute, Laxus remembered when Yuri was a toddler and he and Laxus shared in their morning routine all the way back to before Yuri was potty trained. They got ready together every morning and Yuri was so enthusiastic about being like dad he'd even pretend to shave. Now, that chubby little baby had slowly transformed and was starting to look a lot like a man.

After they finished, Laxus went upstairs to find his middle daughter. Anna was their resident bookworm and the kindest and most gentle of the Dreyar babies. Strangely, Yuri and Anna both had very calm, gentle temperaments, something not present in either of their parents. Anna was overwhelmingly kind and at the moment, was nursing a baby bird that had fallen from its nest.

Layla was an erratic, passionate genius, and Mavis was practically criminal mastermind at times. But Anna? Just amazing, overwhelmingly kind.

She was in her room feeding little maggots to the sparrow as it squeaked and beat its little wings in little box, mouth agape in expectation.

"How's he doing?"

She smiled. "He looks a lot better today. Hungry and noisy."

"Mouth open, screaming, and demanding food? I guess all babies are the same," he answered.

"He's pretty cute, right?"

Laxus nodded. "He's looking better now that he has feathers. He's lucky."

"I'm going to be sad when it's time for him to fly away."

He smiled at her a bit. "I know that feeling."

Anna said, "So about getting a puppy…"

He sat on the edge of the bed and rolled his eyes. "Here's the thing about dogs. They're cute when they're little. In fact, they're so cute you don't mind cleaning up their poop. Everything they learn to do is amazing and cute. And then they grow up, and they stop being cute yet they still demand food, time, and attention all while they get big, ugly, and mean. Actually, that's kind of what it's like be a parent."

"I'm still cute," she sweetly said, hugging on his arm. "Right, Daddy?"

"Only you."

He kissed her hair and told her goodnight, and then went to check up on Layla, who had fallen asleep surrounded by magic notes left by Makarov. He picked up the papers and knowing she slept like death, moved her under the covers. She never did grow out of loving to sleep and could it like none other.

Lucy made her rounds with the kids, and once everyone was in bed or at least in their rooms, the couple finally made it to their own bedroom.

After sixteen years of marriage, they'd achieved a level of comfortable bliss with one another that relied on Laxus' constant antagonization, her yelling at him, and, as always, a lot of sex.

Their normal conversation continued while they got ready for bed, discussing the Fairy Magic Academy, a special school for young wizards to ensure they had a place to stay and didn't grow up to be magically powerful but functionally illiterate. Then there was the guild itself, which had grown significantly, and, of course, their children.

Lucy missed having little kids in the house too, but when she felt the urge to handle a baby she had no problems offering to watch Crash for the afternoon. And then she sent him right home so he could cry all night and keep his parents up while she slept through the night.

She almost couldn't believe sometimes that she'd somehow reached age thirty-five.

They had a really good life and she'd been nothing but happy. They had successful careers and a wonderful family and they had each other. Sometimes Lucy couldn't help but reflect on the fact it all started with them running into each other at the market on some random day that hadn't seemed different from any other at the time.

"What are we going to do when the kids grow up and move out?" he asked.

Lucy seemed a little uneasy. "Well…"

"We could go on vacation. I figure in five years they'll be old enough we can go on a long vacation and they probably won't burn the house down. And a few years after that, they'll be doing...whatever they want, I guess."

His wife said, "I wonder what they're going to be like as adults."

"I'd be willing to bet my skin that they form a proper team and go on jobs together as adults."

Lucy found this to be believable and acceptable as they'd been growing according to each of their strengths and weaknesses. It was one of the many benefits of having kids so close together.

Her husband stretched. "Meanwhile, we'll be laying on the beach."

"You'll be in your office in the guild getting some work done for once," she argued.

"I can assure you that's never going to happen. I come from a long line of slackers."

She sighed and snuggled up to him. "You're never going to change, are you?"

"Do you want me to?"

"No. To be honest, I wouldn't know what to do with you if you behaved, did your work, and didn't get on my nerves."

He slid a hand across her thigh. "I'm sure you would have become bored and left a long time ago. I keep you here by pissing you off."

"And yet somehow you're a wonderful husband."

 _ **Please Review!**_

Special thanks to killer-kelly420, boyceashlee, edelweisswhitetiger, w1n6s-0f-f2r3, aoutre, Yed01, kurahieritr JIO, Miss Dany, Paname, Thornado, thealicehuntt, pandorababe, deltacaraman, mewhee89, megumiyoung, lovelylovelylove, honeyclouds, katiekat2001, and savygirl1515 for reviewing!


	43. The Crimson Tiger

Of course it happened when Lucy was out of town.

Layla had been expected; her first period came with discernable PMS. There was crying, slamming of doors, complaints about cramps, and enough drama Laxus was nearly ready to drop her off at the local animal shelter with a nice donation.

He wished he hadn't been so lazy; he asked Lucy to go represent him at the local guildmaster's meeting. She was honestly better at guild administration than he was, and she represented their guild so much better. This left him with the kids and it left him with Mavis' first period.

Mavis was still only eleven, so it was a little sooner than expected and he wasn't really sure if she'd had all the necessary talks with her mother. All he knew was he could hear her crying in the bathroom and he could smell the bloody female scent.

Crying was so rare for Mavis he hated to hear it. Layla cried every time she got pissed off and Anna was just a big crybaby like her mother, but Mavis was the tough one.

He rapped on the door lightly. "Kid, are you okay?"

"Go away!"

"Mavis, it's alright."

"Eww, Dad, you can smell it, can't you?"

"Yep."

"Yuri too?"

"If you can, you know we can. It's not a big deal. It's kind of a smell we're used to."

This only made her cry harder, as she was already on shaky ground when it came to being feminine. She liked to run and fight, and this disgusting thing happening to her body made her feel gross.

Mavis cried, "I want Mom!"

"Mom isn't here."

Yuri came out of his room and stopped briefly when he heard his sister crying. "Mavis is crying? Did she run out of boys to beat up?" His nose twitched once, twice, and then, "...oh. Nevermind. I'm out." He quickly fled as he'd learned this was generally the safest and wisest thing to do. Like all dragons, he could smell the blood, but he'd somehow always had just enough sense to pretend he didn't.

Mavis screamed from the other side of the door, "Has fate really abandoned me to my incompetent father who doesn't even have a vag-"

"Mavis!" he said.

Laxus was _trying_ to be a good and supportive father, but Mavis was not having it. This was an awkward moment in their relationship, and he really had no idea how he would ever get her to come out of the bathroom.

"You can't live in there."

" **GO AWAY!"**

Yuri, on his flight from the house, happened to run into his oldest sister, Layla, while she was with Sam at the soda shop. As big brother and sister to high-maintenance twins, they were more than accustomed to looking after the younger Dreyars.

Yuri pulled her aside. "You need to go home and help Dad."

"What's going on?"

"Mavis is...ummmm…and then...but after that for a little while… _bleugh_. That blood..."

Layla spoke _Yuri_ , so she figured it out quickly. "Say no more."

She made a quick stop at the corner store, and then ran straight home where she found her father trying to talk Mavis into not being upset while the girl yelled at him hysterically from the other side of the door.

Layla stopped at her father, gave him a hug and said, "Dad, I got this. Please go away. This is girl stuff and you can't talk about it unless you have a-"

"Fine!"

Mavis heard her big sister's voice. "Layla?"

The door unlocked in an instant and Layla paused only briefly to turn and said, "Oh, and Dad?"

"What?"

"The word _vagina_ is not a bad word. You're being childish."

He made a twisted up face in response to this and said, "I'll leave you two to your...whatever."

Mavis was infinitely grateful to have a big sister, and next to their mother, there weren't any women she looked up to more than Layla. Layla was fearless and smart and beautiful, and like Mavis, had a fairly explosive personality, although she was more likely to throw a fit than start a fight. Yuri and Anna were the calm ones, making peace when possible.

There were different metrics that caused them to connect in different ways. Yuri and Mavis were dragon-blooded. Yuri and Anna were the peacemakers, Mavis and Layla had bad tempers, Layla and Anna were girly-girls, and so forth. They all had different relationships with one another and with their parents, but they were a very close-knit family.

Of course, Lucy had already discussed this topic with Mavis, but it still came as a very unwanted surprise and Mavis was grateful to have her energetic feminist of a sister give her a frank review of the options. Layla came packing wipes, pads, liners, and tampons with plenty of advice.

Laxus decided to leave the girls to this, since Mavis clearly preferred her sister anyway, and he did what he knew best to do. He bought chocolate and left it on her bed and then went to work, assuming the situation was under control.

Unfortunately for Orga J Nanagear the Second, _this_ was the day he chose to make his case to the Dreyar girl he'd been smitten with. To say that Mavis was in a crappy mood by the time she finally left the house en route to the guild would be the understatement of the year. She was practically _waiting_ for someone to push her buttons.

She had cramps and the hormones were enough her other senses felt a little off, and she felt tired and most just really pissed off as this wasn't a milestone she'd been looking forward to at all. Her twin Anna had been anxiously awaiting the day she 'became a woman,' but there was no part of Mavis that had been awaiting this event. She only assumed it happened to her first because the universe had a disgusting and hateful sense of humor.

He was already pretty close when she finally caught his scent, and he emerged from a sidestreet with a grin and flowers. "Good morning, Beautiful! I've come back to make you my girlfriend!"

Lightning struck his flowers and they turned to ash as she glared with her Lucy eyebrow twitch. Her thin little lips twisted in derision, and she emitted a low growl.

"Drop Dead!"

"That's no way to treat a good looking guy that spend two hours on the train just to see you! But guess what! We're so far from the river, you can't throw me in this time!"

As if he'd caught her in some 'aha!' moment, he seemed victorious, but then she turned into lightning and vanished. He'd never seen anyone who could do what she did, and he could sense that the lightning went into the ground and was coming toward him at near instant speed.

There was a clap of thunder, and lightning struck upward from the ground as she reappeared behind him and delivered a single, powerful blow to the back of his skull. All lightning users knew this particular part of the body, if exposed to electrical discharge, left the victim stunned.

He was only vaguely aware as she dragged him by the hand two blocks down the street and to throw him in the river just to communicate that she could put him wherever she wanted to. The townspeople found this wasn't a particularly noteworthy event as Mavis was usually beating up boys.

"She's holding my hand…" he mumbled incoherently.

Mavis nearly trembled in rage and kicked him in the stomach. "I think you might be the first person I actually kill."

When she got to the river, she rolled him over the edge, dusted her hands off, and continued walking along the river while he floated on his back.

He emerged from his stupor and swam to catch up with her. "You could give me a chance."

"You could drop dead."

"I know you think I'm cute."

Mavis turned to him and said, "Didn't your mother teach you better? You are literally the _worst_ guy I have ever met in my entire life."

"My mom died, so no. My dad and I are by ourselves, so of course I'm uncivilized. But you still think I'm cute!"

She stopped at this because it made her feel a little bit of pity for him. "Really?"

"Yeah, a dark mage killer her when I was a baby."

She felt a moment of rare sympathy for him, and was considering having mercy on him when he opened his mouth and said, "I obviously need a female in my life!"

The girl sighed. "Drop dead."

Orga did not see the approach of the big dragon, and said, "Think about it! You can eat my lightning, and I can eat yours."

Mavis cringed. "I don't want _anything_ that comes from your body inside of me. You are not going to be inside of me ever."

And _that_ was the comment Yuri heard as he approached his sister.

There was a context issue to say the least, but Orga really had no idea what was happening when an a hand jerked him out of the water by his soaking wet green mane and held him up.

"What the hell are you saying to my sister, you little punk?" Yuri demanded.

"Who you callin' a punk, Punk?!"

"You wanna fight? I've heard you've been coming around looking for one, but you keep picking on my baby sister. I've been waiting for a chance to knock you in the head."

Testosterone-fueled rage flared and they went at it, explosions of bright and dark lightning as the boys fought.

Mavis giggled as there was little she enjoyed more than seeing Yuri in overprotective big brother mode.

In the end, Yuri put Orga back in the river and said, "I don't like your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Then why didn't _you_ beat the crap out of him?"

The girl answered, "He's kind of cute, don't you think?"

He rolled his eyes. "Stop acting like you're grown. You know he's an idiot."

"Aren't all guys?"

"I'm a guy too, you know."

"No, you're my brother. You will always be the strongest, best, coolest boy in the world to me. That's why you're going to give me a piggyback ride to the guild."

He sighed and felt her small amount of weight transfer to his. "You're so spoiled."

"I'm the baby. I'm supposed to be. Besides, I don't feel very well today."

Yuri didn't know what to say to this, but as they past a familiar ice cream shop, he found himself contributing to the further spoiling of Mavis May Dreyar, who ate a chocolate ice cream cone he paid for while he carried her on his back to the guild.

At the guild, Laxus was attempting to do paperwork and spy on his middle daughter at the same time. As the father of a son and three girls, he'd developed a secondary career in espionage.

The problem with his kids is that they were so close they'd get together and lie _as a unit_ to their parents, like when they recently left them alone overnight for the first time and came home to find their house smelled like at least thirty people Laxus knew had never been in the house before. Through intense interrogations, he found all their stories were neatly manufactured and fit together so perfectly they'd never been able to get them to admit they'd had a bunch of kids over.

His primary objective though, was to observe how boys acted towards his daughters.

Sam Redfox and Layla had an ammonia and bleach kind of relationship where they bickered and yelled at each other constantly, and yet were always together. Laxus and Lucy had been on the fence about whether the undertone of this relationship was more brother and sister or boy and girl, until one day Sam told another girl she was cute and this essentially started a small war that ended with Sam begging for forgiveness and her not speaking to him for three days.

Iggy Dragneel, probably due to the nonsense that was 'Sam and Layla' fell out of orbit around Layla in early childhood. Over the years, he very slowly started to gravitate toward Anna, her younger sister. It was something that had grown very slowly between two sweet kids. They were shy and a little cute about it for the most part, and Laxus believed they'd never acknowledged they liked each other.

At the moment, they were sitting close in a corner booth drinking from two straws stuck in one shake.

It was a little eerie to see a little fire dragon and a celestial spirit summoner pull together, as if that was always what was supposed to happen.

Between Sam and Iggy, there was a huge difference. Sam was a huge kid, and he was already going through puberty, so his body was further changing and getting stronger. Iggy hadn't grown very quickly, so he actually ended up being shorter than all the girls except Mavis. He still mostly looked like a little boy, and he was nowhere near strong enough to beat Sam up.

Sam bullied him a little at times, but Laxus believed there was going to be a day the little sweet dragon turned the tables on him and beat him into the ground. He was the son of Natsu, after all. And as he sat there with his shy little grin, Laxus believed Iggy was always just one bad day away from turning into a monster.

He sighed and went back in his office once he observed everything was somewhat normal.

Lucy had trained him well, cautioning him that if he interfered too much with the girls when it came to boys, they'd end up not trusting him. The last thing he wanted was for any of their children to not feel comfortable talking about something important. He was determined to choose his battles wisely, and begrudgingly accept the fact that girls liked boys and boys liked girls.

If they had a party and lied about it, he didn't care that much. If they ended up sneaking around with boys, that was a different and much scarier situation.

According to his wife, these crushes were a sign their children were emotionally healthy. By the time their generation had reached this age, they were all warped and emotionally damaged. Most were orphans, set on revenge, psychologically dysfunctional, and harboring abandonment issues. This group of kids had grown up mostly in peace so they acted more like normal kids most of the time.

There was a knock on his door after a while which came as a surprise because the guild was mostly empty other than the kids and Mavis, who had arrived halfway through his paperwork and wanted to fight _everybody_ and Yuri, who sat quietly and watched the mayhem unfold.

"Come in."

Iggy Dragneel entered with a strange expression, clutching the dragonscale scarf his father had given him. "Hi Master."

"Hello, Boy Who Sits One-Quarter of an Inch Closer to My Daughter Every Week and Thinks I Don't Notice."

He looked up over his reading glasses at the boy, who paled at the accusation but then stammered, "C-Can I ask you a question?"

"If the question is about my kid, the answer is no. If it's about taking a job that would almost inevitably end in your death, I approve," he teased.

Iggy knew Master Laxus wasn't being serious and took a deep breath as he sat down in the chair across from the big desk. "So I was wondering...if….you know, we could...I just wanted to ask…"

Laxus put his pen down and took his glasses off. "Out with it already."

"Can Anna be my girlfriend?" he sputtered all at once, as it the entire sentence was one single word.

Laxus always wondered how and when this would happen.

It wasn't as terrible as he imagined it would be and as he sat there pouting at the boy, he could remember watching Iggy grow up with his girls and knew him to be a sincere and loyal boy. He always treated them well and he was especially considerate of Anna, who was a little bit more tender than her sisters.

Laxus sighed. "You're thirteen. She's eleven. What the hell does that even mean?"

"Huh?"

"What does 'being your girlfriend' entail?"

Iggy felt sweat start to form on his brow, and he started to doubt whether this was a good idea. According to his mother, this was the only way to be become closer to Anna without making an enemy out of her father, but he was more than intimidating as he started intensely from across the desk.

He swallowed nervously and asked, "C-Can I ask you a question? What are you thinking about right now?"

"I'm thinking about how fun it would be to pull your spine out of your left nostril, because that's what I'm going to do if I don't like your answer," he calmly replied.

Iggy thought carefully and said, "Well...what do you mean?"

Laxus tapped his fingers on the desk impatiently. "How would anything be different if she is your girlfriend from now?"

The boy squirmed in his chair, tightening his grip on the white scarf. "Umm…."

"Well?"

Iggy considered this carefully and then said, "We could be even better friends, and spend more time together. We always have fun together. We could do stuff."

"Such as…"

Laxus found he enjoyed this more than he thought he would. It wasn't that he didn't get it, because he did. For any male, when it came to the chosen female, there was an innate need to be able to call that person by some possessive. There was a world of difference between 'my friend' and 'my girlfriend.' And as a father, it was his innate need to resist this, as Anna was his little girl, first and foremost, and he really didn't want to share with the white-haired, green-eyed boy staring nervously at him.

There was a tense moment, and he said, "We could hold hands."

"Is that what you want?"

Iggy nodded.

The father tapped his fingers again and said, "When I was thirteen, you know what my main goal in life was?"

"What?"

"I wanted to know what a girl's breast felt like. So now there's a thirteen-year-old boy who wants to date my kid and I think back to that and wonder if that kind of stuff goes on in your little brain," he said.

Iggy's face twisted up a little bit, and he quickly said, "Of course not!"

"Look me in my face and tell me you've never thought about it."

The boy's eyes cut to one side, and Laxus put his glasses back on. "I always love it when you brats act like we don't know what it's like to be your age. It wasn't _that_ long ago."

Iggy didn't know what to say to this, so he didn't say anything.

He asked, "So how long do you want this arrangement to last?"

This was possibly the most confusing question anyone had ever asked Iggy. "Huh?"

"How long do you want her to be your girlfriend? Couples either break up or get married."

"Umm…"

Laxus said, "On one hand, if you are already planning a breakup, I should hurt you for wanting to break my kid's heart. On the other hand, if you are already planning on marrying her, I should probably just kill you now and save everyone the trouble. Either way, you're kind of screwed, so chose your answer wisely."

Iggy's face half-disappeared into the scarf as he considered this 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' proposition. "I don't really have any plans. I want to be strong someday. I want to be happy with my friend."

"I guess I'll let you live for now. Next question."

"Master…"

Laxus smirked, "What is it that you like about her?"

Iggy pulled the scarf all the way up to his eyes. "Umm...well…Anna is really nice and smart. And you know…"

"I know what?"

"...pretty…She's my best friend."

The girl's father decided this was fine and good. If he'd said 'pretty' first, Laxus might have given him a harder time than he already was. It would have been a farce, because he knew the kid appreciated all things Anna.

He asked, "And _why_ should I let you?"

"Nevermind…" Iggy mumbled as he slid off the chair. His resolve had crumbled, and he couldn't take her father anymore.

Laxus signed his name on a form and said, "Sit down, kid. I'm only giving you shit because it's my job."

The boy sat back down and felt knots in his stomach.

"You're a good kid, Iggy. And my wife thinks if I am by some miracle successful in chasing you off, she'll just like some other kid and chances are, he'll be a lot worse than you. So I'm going to let you do this, but I have a couple of rules."

The boy's heart flip-flopped in his chest in relief that bordered on disbelief. Laxus as an overprotective father was practically a running joke in the guild and all the boys were scared. The Dreyar girls were gorgeous and brilliant, but they had a big, mean dragon looming over them at all times.

"Okay…"

Laxus said, "I don't want you guys all over each other. I don't want you kissing on the mouth or touching at all. I can agree to hand-holding, but if I catch those weirdly enormous paws you call hands anywhere else, I'll bite them off and nail them to my door as a warning to others. Understood?"

Iggy nodded as he looked down at his hands.

"Second, you better treat her well. If you hurt her feelings, I'll hurt you. I feel like you already know that. You got all that?"

"Yes, Master."

"That's all. Don't make me regret this, because I know where you live and you can't outrun me."

Iggy beamed at him. "Thanks, Master!"

"Now leave so I can puke."

He grumbled in defeat when the boy zipped out of his office.

It hadn't been as terrible as he'd thought, but it was still bad. He knew his kid was probably gleefully happy and he'd have to hear her gush excitedly about this later that day.

He worked in peace for an hour when the door opened, and Sam Redfox came in.

"Hey, Master. Wassup?"

Laxus looked up and said, "I was just thinking about how annoying thirteen-year-old boys are."

"I got a question. You let Iggy-"

The unamused father narrowed his eyes. "Get out of my office unless you want to live the rest of your life with an embarrassing twitch."

"But-"

"Out!"

Laxus whispered a string of obscenities under his breath. He longed for the days when his sweet little babies just wanted to snuggle and have all his attention, but those days were long gone and he knew they weren't coming back. He was a little alarmed sometimes when he thought that they were beginning the gradual separation and that eventually, they'll leave the nest.

By the time he finished his work, Mavis had completed her reign of terror, Anna was blushing and grinning so hard he was sure it probably hurt her cheeks as she sat with Iggy, Layla and Sam were yelling at each other, and his son looked despondent.

Then again, he remembered, there were times he looked forward to post-kid life.

He collected his offspring, and made them go home with him so he could tend to their assorted issues: Mavis was unhappy with menstruation and felt like if she hit enough people she might feel better, Anna was excited she had a boyfriend, Layla complained about Sam but Laxus knew she wasn't going to stay away from him, and his son had upset his girlfriend for the thousandth time.

Layla cooked dinner while she talked to him, but it was nothing new. She and Sam had been annoying each other since he realized he could keep her attention by agitating her. That hadn't changed since infancy.

"You could just stop hanging around him if he bothers the shit out of you," her father suggested.

The blonde held up a wooden spoon. "I don't want to stop being his friend. I want him to stop being an idiot."

This earned an eyeroll from her father. "Asking a teenage boy to stop being an idiot is like asking you to spend less time looking in the mirror."

"Dad, really?" she incredulously asked.

Yuri came downstairs and sat on the bar stool next to his Dad. "So...today was Lilia's birthday. I forgot."

Laxus looked up at Layla. "See?"

His son said, "She asked me if somebody dropped me on my head when I was a baby. That's kind of mean."

His father thought for a moment and said, "Actually…"

Yuri frowned. "Dad?"

"Well, Son…"

His son indignantly asked, "Oh my God, Dad, did I get dropped on the head?!"

Laxus said, "Yes, actually. Now that you mention it, something like that did happen."

For a second, his son considered this. "How did it happen?"

"The person who was watching you put you on the couch. And then the doorbell rang, and when that person got up to answer the door, you rolled off the edge and landed on your forehead," Laxus explained.

The teenager said, "When you say 'the person,' you mean you, right? You dropped me on my head."

Laxus shrugged. "The downside of being the oldest is that we learned a lot from messing up with you, like how to not drop our other babies on their heads."

"Dad, please tell me you're joking!"

He said, "Ask your mother. She was pretty pissed."

Mavis joined this conversation. "Did I get dropped on my head?"

Yuri said, "Didn't anyone tell you? You were normal sized when you were born, but our clumsy dad dropped you so hard on your head you got squished until you were short."

"I'll fight you. You're big and slow and you'll probably forget we're having a fight before I pop you," she threatened.

Laxus soon had a houseful of yelling, blond-headed, blue-eyed kids shouting at each other. One picking, one yelling threats, one laughing, another trying to make everyone else calm down. He decided to leave them be as long as they didn't destroy the house again, as Lucy wasn't a fan of coming home to 'remodelling projects.'

(She didn't really buy 'I thought the house would look better without a wall there.')

He managed to get his brood fed and in bed, and by the time Lucy got home that night, she found her husband sitting in his study with some whiskey and a bunch of paperwork.

The blonde wrapped her arms around her husband's neck from behind and kissed his cheek. "How did it go?"

"Terrible. Never leave me with these monsters again."

She giggled. "Who was it that wanted a big family?"

He craned his neck to kiss her. "But, Babe, they were so cute when they were little."

"That bad? I left you alone for one day."

Laxus said, "...Mavis started her period, Anna got a boyfriend, Layla got into another argument with Sam, and our son decided he's not as smart as his sisters because I dropped him on his head when he was a baby."

She spun his chair around and bent down. "Laxus, I say this every time I leave you with the kids because every time, something weird or bad happens, but you're a disaster without me."

"Of course I am. Everyone knows I'm shit out of luck without my girl."

Lucy closed his ledger and he kicked back the last bit of his drink before following her down the hall. She stopped to check in on the kids, but they were sleeping soundly. With a grin, she took her husband's hand and let him lead her to their bedroom.

He really was an incredible father.

They had sex, and then laid in bed and talked for an hour. Laxus told her all of the day's adventures, and she laughed as she laid with her head on his arm. There was never a dull moment in their house, and every day brought new excitement and challenges, but it sounded like he'd caught one of the more complicated days.

Lucy was snuggled up to him. "We have a good family. Good kids, who love each other."

"Aren't they? If it ever came down to it, they'd be just fine without us."

"I can't wait to see what kind of people they grow up to be," she said.

Laxus said, "Well, Mavis is going to either take over the world or burn it to the ground. I imagine Anna will probably end up with a lot of celestial spirits and pets. Layla will become the brattiest saint wizard since ever. Yuri...I think he'll end up pretty much like me."

His wife shook her head. "Layla ends up guildmaster, Mavis ends up a saint, Anna takes over the world, and Yuri has fifteen kids."

"You want to make a bet?"

"How about this: Layla takes over the world, Yuri ends up the saint, Anna becomes guildmaster, and Mavis has a dozen kids."

Lucy snorted. "You know what I realized? The twins are eleven. We're probably closer to being grandparents than to the last time we had kids. Think about it. Ten years from now, the twins are twenty-one, Layla is twenty-three, Yuri is twenty-five. It would honestly be kind of weird if we didn't have a grandkid by then."

Laxus occasionally had random stray thoughts like this, but they reminded him he was getting old so he tended to ignore them. He already had a head of mostly silver hair, and some little lines around his eyes. There was a crease at the corner of his mouth from his trollish grin, and when he looked at his wife, well...she still looked amazing.

Sixteen years of marriage and four babies and she just kept getting better.

"I wonder what they'll call us."

"Who."

"The grandkids."

He rolled over to face her. "You're about a thousand miles ahead of me here, Babe."

"How about Grams and Gams?"

"Ugh, that makes us sound so old."

Lucy suggested, "Okay, how about Grams and Fathead?"

"Sounds about as much fun as being someone's Gams."

She grinned at him and gave him a kiss. "Don't be so cranky. I know today was a bit much for you. I'm proud of you for letting Iggy be his cute little self. You're growing up."

Laxus rolled back onto his back. "Thanks, Mommy."

When she giggled again, he closed his eyes. "One more giggle and nobody is sleeping tonight."

"Is that a dare?"

She saw the lights go out and squealed as a familiar weight pinned her down.

Lucy wrestled as he tickled her. "Get off me, you big brute!"

He smiled against her skin and then sank his teeth into her lightly just to hear her gasp in surprise.

Getting old was actually a lot more fun than it looked, he decided.

 _ **Please Review!**_

Special thanks to yorusorra, boyceashlee, yumeyumi, guest, serenalovesanime, arouraleona, mistysgirl, kurahieiritr JIO, megumiyoung, yed01, sassykitten1701, katiekat2001, fairytailbookworm, Mewhee89, tiernank, thornado, honeyclouds, hi, andy24amk, thealicehuntt, xxshyxx, deltacaraman, pandorababe, ladyallyssa, paname, screeney, kennedydreyar, killer-kelly420, jhdavis1103, helenezahl, theoginger, and lakeya2700 for reviewing!


	44. The First Broken Heart

It was an unhappy 'first.'

At the age of fifteen, after twelve years of legal battles, contentious fights, and venomous parental relations, a judge gave Lilia Eucliffe the choice about which parent she wanted to live with. She chose her father, and it was the hardest thing for her because that meant leaving her first love, a little blond-headed dragon boy.

All her life, she'd grown up with the Dreyars, watching the girls with their daddy, yet her own was always out of reach. Almost grown, she believed it was her only chance to get to know her father as a father.

So she broke up with Yuri and moved halfway across the country to live with her dad.

The breakup was sad, painful, and difficult for both kids, because no one had done anything wrong and Yuri understood it was what she'd always wanted.

All he knew was ever since he was a little boy, he'd wanted to have her in his world.

At the wonderfully naive age of fifteen, he often thought about the future, and in that future, she was always there. He had _plans_. Dreams. Expectations. Lilia Eucliffe was supposed to be part of his future, but suddenly she was ripped out and even though he tried to tell himself maybe somehow in the end they'd cross paths, he knew it was probably over for good.

The boy dragon and the girl dragon were supposed to be together, right?

He had so many pictures of her and of them growing up, and his father advised him to collect all of them and put them somewhere he wouldn't see them. He couldn't do it, and sadly enough, in those weird emotionally raw and hormonally confusing moments, he still had one he put to less than honorable use.

He had a support system second to none, though, and a big family who was determined to love him to death. His sisters were absolutely spoiling him, which was strange because he was usually the one that looked after them.

On this Saturday night, Layla baked him a cake and they were sitting on the floor in his room eating pizza and cake and drinking soda while they played a board game. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, Yuri kept rolling the worst possible numbers and was losing miserably.

Lucy saw the light was still on in their son's room at two in the morning and heard the occasional laughter and giggles came from the room, and she smiled.

"They're still up? I didn't know Layla could stay conscious for more than eighteen hours in a row," Laxus said.

His wife said, "They're acting like little mother hens to their big brother."

Laxus sighed. "Poor kid. Cried like a baby about it earlier."

"We tend to think all these little crushes and relationships are ridiculous or maybe no real in a way, but their feelings are real. Yuri is really hurt, Laxus."

"I know. She's been around for a long time, you know. And of course he's young and a nice kid. They probably sat around and made plans because that's what young naive people do," he said.

Lucy smiled at him. "We were only together for four months the first time we started talking about plans. You remember? We were sitting in my old apartment. I was only four years older than he is now."

No parent wanted to see their child get hurt, but the Dreyars were used to the physical hurts. Raising a family of rowdy wizards meant they'd witnessed a countless number of bumps, bruises, ouchies, stitches, and all kinds of other ouch-related events.

When Makarov died it was hard on everyone, but that was always an inevitable pain that was going to come eventually.

Laxus went on to bed and she cracked open the door and found the kids still high on sugar as they sat on the floor surrounded by plates and soda bottles.

"It's getting late, kids," she said.

Anna said, "We'll go to bed after we finish our game, Mama."

Lucy knew they probably wouldn't, but she didn't mind since it was summer and they didn't have school. They all knew if it had been a school night she would have broken out the whip to get them in bed, if necessary. She really hoped she didn't have to resort to that again, as it made her feel like one of those crazy unhinged parents.

Laxus comforted her by telling her that it was probably impossible to raise teenagers without feeling that way at times.

She sat on the edge of the bed and asked, "What are you guys playing?"

Mavis answered, "We're playing Life."

"Life?"

"Yes, the game of Life. Yuri's losing," she said.

Lucy replied, "Don't you think that's kind of heartless? I feel like the only thing you could do to cheer him up more is to play some really sad songs. And tomorrow you can watch that lacrima film where the dog dies at the end."

Yuri sipped his root beer and despondently shrugged. "It seems fitting somehow. Lose the game of life then literally lose the game of life."

His mother said. "Yuri, there are billions of girls in the world and you're a cute kid. There will be another girlfriend."

"I don't want another girlfriend…"

Mavis punched him in the arm. "Stop whining. We're trying to love you through your heartbreak. Let us love you."

Anna hugged on his other arm said, "Is hitting him part of the love?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Mavis asked.

Layla asked, "I still don't know how you two are twins. Yuri, you want some more cake?"

"Of course I do."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh at how each of them chose to comfort their brother. Mavis punched him, Anna hugged him, and Layla fed him. This was the wonderful world of Yuri Dreyar at its best, and she knew even if his little heart was broken, he was probably really happy to still be surrounded by people who cared that much about him.

There were a lot of people who initially pitied Yuri for having to live in a houseful of hormonal girls, but anyone who really knew them knew he really didn't have it bad at all. His sisters did everything from picking out outfits for their poor colorblind brother to making sure he didn't get through his first heartbreak without a punch, a cake, and a hug as needed.

For a parent, there was nothing more wonderful or heartwarming than watching the kids love each other, so Lucy sat there for a while watching over them as they laughed and teased and ate cake.

Anna suggested, "Now we just need to find you a new girlfriend. How about Hannah?"

"Who is that?" Yuri asked.

Mavis said, "The girl who smells like fish sticks."

"I'll pass."

Layla came next, "How about that red-headed girl from the class above you? I forget her name."

Yuri narrowed his eyes. "Oh, so I just need to stop being colorblind, figure out what red is, and then I'll know."

Mavis said, "How about Mariellen? She dates all the guys."

Lucy reached down and pinched her pointed little ear. "That's _NOT_ the kind of girl you want your brother with!"

"Ow! You don't have to be so mean, Mama. I'm just trying to help," the youngest said.

Her mother asked, "Is there any end to your mischief, Mavis?"

Mavis flashed her thin-lipped, fanged troll-smirk at her and she sighed and added, "You're just like your father."

Yuri gave them a tired smile. "Thanks, but I'll be okay. Some things a man has to do himself. You girls can help me with everything else."

By the conclusion of the game, Yuri was bankrupt and childless, to which he could only laugh. Layla fell asleep in the middle of the floor, so the twins cleaned up and after Yuri and his mother dragged a nearly comatose Layla to her bed, Lucy wrapped her arms around her son and gave him a good squeeze. She held on tight until they were all the way back to his room and she turned out the lights and tucked him in like he was a little boy again.

In the dark (which only really affected her sight), she bent down and kissed his forehead. "It won't hurt forever. Time does wonders for a broken heart, I promise."

"Has anyone ever broken up with you, Mom?" he weakly asked.

"Well...no. Your dad was my first boyfriend."

Yuri said, "Dad said he never loved a girl before you. You never loved anyone before Dad. The girls obviously haven't. Do you know what that means, Mom?"

"What?"

"I'm the only one in this entire family who has ever been dumped."

Lucy answered, "Just be strong, son. Your dad and I love you, and you have all your sisters too."

Yuri rolled over away from her and felt her rub his back like he was a little boy. She waited until he finally went to sleep, and then quietly slipped out of bed and found her husband had already fallen asleep.

Days rolled by and Yuri remained in somewhat of a slump for a while.

After a week, he let Layla take all his pictures and hide them in an unknown location, and after two, he managed to convince himself to think about it a little less. By the time a month had gone by, the acute sting was gone and he was able to think about better things: about how Lilia was finally able to know her dad, about how she finally had freedom to be a dragon, about how her mom wouldn't be able to yell at her anymore.

Yuri realized his little wounds were really just collateral damage. A self-sacrificing young person like himself didn't mind bleeding a little so someone he cared about could be happy.

Life went on and so did he, albeit as a much more mature person than he was before. Once it was all over and he felt alright again, he felt more grownup. He could look back and think about the way he thought and felt as being naive and childish, but he couldn't forget how good it felt to sit next to her under a tree and make some grand life plan together.

During his recovery, he got a lot of time and attention from his parents and sisters too. That part was nice, and he was grateful to have a big crazy family.

As part of his parents' campaign to show him extra love, his father took him with him on a business trip to Crocus where he'd been summoned by the Council to explain some excessive destruction caused by Fairy Tail during a dark guild battle the Council had requested they engage.

This was all very pointless to Laxus, but once the meeting was over, they were exploring the city and eating everything they came across when they happened to pass the zoo.

"You want to go?"

Yuri nodded.

Five minutes later, they were sitting on the railing at the alligator's exhibit.

"Have you been here before?" Yuri asked.

Laxus smiled a bit. "Your mom and I had our second date here. You know how she is...she didn't really have a very high opinion of being _too_ close to the dangerous animals."

"They're just alligators," he said.

"Your mom likes animals, but she's suspicious as hell of the ones that eat people. You should have seen the first time she saw Raijin. I don't think I've ever heard her scream that loud. Good God, that woman was pissed," he answered.

They moved on from there and armed with an ice cream cone, Yuri asked, "How did you and mom get together anyway? Did you always like her?"

His father thought for a minute before he replied with, "I always thought she was attractive, but I had this period of my life where I was the world's biggest asshole for about nine years. She was not impressed with me, but when I got it together, she didn't mind me. The king had this ball honoring Fairy Tail, and I didn't want to go by myself, and we just happened to run into each other while I was thinking about it.

"So we went to this ball together, and we had such a great time. The next morning we came here, and then after that, it was us against the world."

Yuri enjoyed hearing the story, and as they went from one exhibit to another, Laxus told his son a kid-appropriate version of his wonderful romance with Lucy Heartfilia. He thought at first maybe it would make him sad since he didn't have a girlfriend anymore, but he seemed to perk up a little at the idea a socially awkward Dreyar could win at the game of love after all.

They walked along the same path and Laxus had little flashbacks to his date with Lucy, when they were just starting to discover how great they were together.

Yuri was leaning over the rail to the lion exhibit when his father said, "Life is good, son. The last time I was here, I was with this cute little blonde who kept blushing every time she smiled at me. Now I'm standing in the same place with our fifteen-year-old son."

With a somewhat sad half-twitch of a smile, the boy looked out at the exhibit. "I know everything is okay. It sucks, but I'm sure I'm not the only person this has ever happened to. The weird thing is I can't shake this feeling, like I wasn't good enough somehow. I keep thinking about it like maybe if I was a better person, things would have happened differently even though I know that doesn't make sense."

Rejection and abandonment were ugly and terrible things to feel, and it was difficult to talk a person out of them. Laxus knew this well.

"Did Gams ever tell you anything about my father?" Laxus asked.

Yuri shook his head.

This wasn't surprising as Makarov didn't speak of Ivan at all after his death from cancer. The idea that Ivan lived a terrible, pointless life and died horribly was hard on Makarov, but he never discussed it. Laxus never talked about Ivan either.

"I always just kind of assume he must have died when you were little or something."

His father leaned against the rail and crossed his arms. "My father died when you were three. You met him a couple of times. You were still little, so I doubt you remember."

"You had a dad all along?!"

Laxus sighed. "He wasn't really a dad. My mother is still alive."

"And a mom?!"

To say this was a delicate situation was like saying the ocean seemed a little wet. Laxus didn't really like to talk about his feelings, but he'd go through any kind of discomfort for his kids.

"My parents decided when I was born that they didn't like each other, and they didn't like me either. Gams raised me because my parents didn't want me. I was a pathetic little brat, tiny and sick all the time, didn't know why everyone else had a mom and dad but me. My dad started coming around and it was worse because he didn't like who I was," he said.

Yuri almost couldn't believe his ears as he listened intently. He had no idea his father had such a rough childhood and it was easy to tell from how the story was being told that it still hurt him.

Laxus added, "It was worse when he did start coming around. He had me crazy and fucked up in my head thinking if I was a better kid my dad would stop leaving me or that he'd like me. It made me think a lot of bad things about myself, and about other people."

"Why did he do that?"

"He was just selfish. Nothing more, nothing less. It didn't have anything to do with me. In your case, that girl left because she needed to. It wasn't about you. And it was the right thing to do. So don't blame yourself too much, and don't sit around and wonder if there's something wrong with you."

Yuri was quiet for a long time, maybe two or three minutes. "Do you think your dad loved you?"

"I know he didn't. I used to hope he did, but then when I met you I realized that bastard never gave a damn about me."

Yuri seemed to shake off whatever funk he'd been in for the moment. "I've never had to feel that way. I have great parents."

They talked for a long while as they moved through the rest of the exhibits, and Laxus was glad his son was able to take his smidgen of emotional vulnerability and somehow become stronger. He considered this to be an advanced parenting technique, and one that developed from necessity.

Newborns took a lot of time, but their needs were simple. When Yuri was a baby, if he had a clean diaper and a full belly he was happy. But as kids grew up and became more complicated, so did their needs and at his age, sometimes the hardest thing about being a parent was figuring out what he needed.

At this point, making Yuri happy meant sticking with him and helping him work through the very real problem of his major disappointment in life.

Once they finished their tour of the zoo, they went back into the downtown area and Laxus bought his son what felt like his sixth meal of the day from a food cart.

"When you eat, where does the food go?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

His father said, "Your mother and I are confused because we don't know where the food you eat actually goes. Do you have a portal to Edolas in your stomach we don't know about?"

Yuri finished chewing the first bite of a hot dog. "Every extra meal I eat gets me closer to being taller than you."

"Well, you just made a really good case for me to never feed you again."

XXX

They had a nice break from the girls, and upon returning home, Laxus found the Dreyar girls were babysitting Crash Groh. Mavis had a leash hooked to the toddler's belt and Laxus surveyed this with great concern. The idea that Mavis would put a leash on a small child wasn't all that disturbing as that just seemed like something she would do. What bothered him was the fact Anna and Layla seemed to be okay with it.

Laxus unhooked the leash. "Honestly…"

Crash ran full-speed and face-first into the nearest wall, smacked his face and fell down. Then he backed up and started again, only to be caught by Laxus. "Kid, what on earth is your problem?!"

"He's trying to run through walls like Gildarts," Layla explained.

"Imma Crash like Gramps!" the boy exclaimed.

Laxus narrowed his eyes and used his 'Dad' voice. "You will _not_ get near the wall again, do you understand me?"

The red-headed boy fearfully nodded and was put down on the floor. As promised, he went back to his blocks, looking up every few seconds at the one who just invoked the voice of authority against his toddler mischief.

Anna said, "You're so good at that. I don't have a Dad voice."

"It would be weird if you did," Mavis replied.

Laxus rolled his eyes and went upstairs and found his wife napping. Clearly, she either didn't know Gildarts had left his grandson with the girls or she didn't know how they were making the little menace behave himself. He assumed with Yuri the four of them would probably be okay, so he took off his shoes, got under the covers and decided to join his wife for a nap.

Lucy yawned when she felt his warmth and reached for him. "How's our baby?"

"Strong and hungry."

"You're a good man, you know. I think I might like you after all," she teased as she gave him a quick kiss.

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to Twiztidprincess, flamey owl, thunderbabyfan, ryan moon, andy24amk, dragonlady 98, paname, boyceashlee, thornado, pandorababe, fairytail bookworm, arouraleona, mewhee89, megumiyoung, jhdavis1103, sassykitten1701, sexyvampires4all, thealicehuntt, titaniazoe, lunastarlady, and katiekat for reviewing!**_


	45. The Tale of Two Battles

Layla Dreyar prepared for battle.

Hair pulled back, she steeled her nerves, took a deep breath, and prepared herself to face the enemy. She prayed she wouldn't be noticed, but she knew she couldn't rely on luck. Her opponent was vigilant, alert, and his gaze was inescapable.

She made no noise as she crept down the steps toward the exit, nearly holding her breath.

Laxus looked up at his daughter over the newspaper and narrowed her eyes at her cropped top. Several inches of her bare stomach were visible, which was a violation of at least a dozen clothing rules. While war had not been on his schedule on this otherwise peaceful summer morning, he was ready for action at any moment.

The thirteen-year-old cringed; luck had not found favor with her.

He peered at her over his newspaper and nonchalantly said, "Good morning, she-child. I think you somehow got confused and only put on half of a shirt this morning."

The little blonde put her hands on her hips as she stood there in a skirt and a cropped top. She had strappy sandals and a stubborn attitude. "Dad, can we talk about this?"

He sipped his coffee and calmly stared at her. "Of course not. When you live in your own house, and pay all of your own bills, you can do whatever you want. And even on that day, I'm still not going to listen to you."

Layla covered her belly button. "Dad, it's just a top. It's a valid method of self-expression."

Laxus sipped his coffee and folded his newspaper. "What are you expressing exactly?"

"Well…"

Laxus remained nonplussed as she failed to provide him with a legitimate thought that could only be expressed through her outfit. "What is wrong with you lately?" he asked.

"I am growing up, Dad."

"Wearing half of an outfit doesn't make you a grownup. Toddlers hate wearing clothes too."

Layla fisted her hands at her sides. "You don't understand anything! I'm not changing my shirt."

Laxus calmly replied, "That's fine. You are forbidden to leave the house dressed like that."

"This is who I am, Dad!"

"You're a whorish little half-shirt? That's surprising. I thought you were a kid all this time."

This was what she hated the most about going to war with her dad; after the first couple of blow-up arguments, he learned how to remain calm and sarcastic. She could yell, slam doors, cry, and execute every other trick in the book and when it was over, he'd still be sitting there sipping his coffee like everything was fine.

Laxus wasn't a strict disciplinarian and he and Lucy let their kids learn by mistakes in most areas. One area where he was seemingly overbearing was over the girls and their clothes. Layla was the only one who really challenged him in this, but she did so often.

She turned to leave the house anyway in defiance, slung open the front door, and said, "You can't stop me from being who I am!"

And then she ran face-first into a wall of activated runes, busting her nose so hard she hard to check to see if it was bleeding.

Well-educated in the world of magic, she could read the language of the runes:

 _No child shall leave these runes if forbidden by a parent._

Layla stomped back into the kitchen, and found her father had gone back to his newspaper and toast. "You put runes around our house?!"

Laxus furrowed his brows. "Go upstairs, put on a shirt, and I'll consider letting you go outside before you turn forty."

 _Defeated._

"UGH!" she half-shrieked.

Laxus took another sip of his coffee and stared down at the paper. "Unstuff your bra while you're at it."

He heard a door slam and sighed.

When Layla was a toddler, she often threw extreme temper tantrums that involved holding her breath, throwing herself down on the floor, yelling, beating on the floor, crying, and the like. They'd learned to treat these as non-events, and now that she was half-grown, she'd seemingly reverted in part to those tactics so he dealt with them the same way.

She was a good kid but she was in awkward stage of growing up. Laxus felt like there was something going on with her, but she hadn't told him anything.

When Yuri came downstairs and poured a cup of black coffee, his father asked, "Do you have any grief to cause me today?"

"I think I'm good."

Lucy came down the stairs quickly, in a hurry to get to the guild and was a little annoyed to find her husband basking in what appeared to be a state of calm. "Laxus, you need to be at work and you're sitting here like everything is fine and calm and you don't have anywhere to be."

Laxus let out a long, slow sigh. "Calm isn't really the word I'd use. I'm ready to go."

The door flew open and the twins came in with a huge egg. Mavis was hefting it and it was comically huge compared to her. It was only eight in the morning, so Laxus really didn't know why they'd somehow gotten up very early and already been been into mischief.

Anna asked, "Can we keep it?"

Lucy's first response was, "What do you mean 'Can we keep it?' What on earth would hatch out of an egg that huge that you think would make a good housepet?"

"We don't know, but can we keep it?" Anna asked.

"Hell no! You guys are not hatching a monster in the house. We said no to a puppy, so it amazes me that you think that I'd let you have a monster, a demon, whatever is in that thing."

Mavis said, "How about in the backyard?"

Her mother's eyebrow twitched. "Not there either," she growled.

Laxus watched them stack the deck against their mother and get ready to deal. They had a method to their madness, and they knew how to get what they wanted.

Yuri was the negotiator, and if they could achieve their goals through compromise, he was the one that faced the parental figures. He was primarily effective against Lucy, who was always so proud of her son for being such a respectable and reasonable boy she was inclined to give in.

Then there was Layla, the debater, who would argue logic and twist facts until upside down seemed right-side up. This was effective against Laxus, who was actually easily persuaded about things he didn't care very much about. It got her nowhere with her mother.

Anna was the ace, the trump card, the go-to for the things both parents would say no to. She rarely asked for anything, and when she did, it was without grief or argument. She was such a sweet kid that both parents felt like giving her what she wanted just because she never caused problems.

And of course, Mavis was their sly, tricky one, who was a bender of the rules. She could sell dirty socks to a man with no feet, and be adorably rude while doing it.

Hatching a creature of indeterminate origin was not a task that could be accomplished by anyone except Anna.

"Please, Mama?" she sweetly asked with her big, bright smile.

Lucy cut her eyes over to Laxus, who gave her a look that said, 'you know damn well you're passing the buck.'

"It's an Exceed egg. Happy hatched out of one just like that," he said.

This only made the kids more excited, and now Yuri's interest was piqued too. He invoked his negotiating skills in an instant. "Dad, you said we can't have any pets that poop in the house or tear stuff up. Happy's not like that. It would be a good pet for us, and an Exceed would be useful for us in battle when we go on jobs."

Laxus punted the ball back at Lucy. "If your mother says it's okay, that's fine."

"Laxus!" Lucy exclaimed, knowing whoever said 'yes' got the 'I told you so's' later on. "Since you're the one who loves animals so much, I'll let you make the final call."

He smirked and answered, "Your mother doesn't mind, so fine. Wait, where did you find that exactly?"

Mavis smiled and both of the girls started to run up the stairs. "We forget."

Lucy shook her head. "There is nothing more suspicious than when twins use the word 'we,' especially those two."

Yuri moved to run up the stairs and Laxus caught him by the collar, "Change of plans."

"Eh?"

Laxus said, "Your mother and I are going out of town for the weekend. We need a kid-cation."

"Wait, we are?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," he quickly answered, "Yuri is going to be in charge."

The boy pointed at himself. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

Yuri sighed. "Why me?"

Laxus answered, "Because you came out of the womb first. Don't let your sister go outside half-naked, and no boys, wild animals, or magic in the house. Understood?"

"Okay...but-"

Laxus grabbed Lucy and pulled her upstairs. He might have said 'weekend,' but it was only Wednesday on his random summer morning. She _did_ want some alone time with her husband and as cute as their kids were, they had their moments too.

She made arguments about leaving the kids alone without warning while he packed his bag and hers. Then she realized that even though her kids were ten kinds of mischievous, they weren't really bad kids. They rarely did things that were immoral, but they often did things that were just irritating and irksome to their parents.

An hour later, they were on the train and as was their tradition, Laxus curled up with his head in her lap, willing to accept a little nausea from a break from their lovable but demanding children.

She ran her hands through his hair. "You're a good dad."

"I like the little rascals, but I've been needing some time with my wife."

"I can't believe you wanted to pin the cat on me," she complained.

Laxus said, "I did. The first time it scratches up the couch, get ready to hear about 'that cat you let the kids have.' Most Exceeds are really annoying. Happy is like a five-year-old girl stuck in the body of a male cat with wings."

Lucy suddenly panicked, "Uh-oh, do the kids have groceries?!"

"Well, if they get hungry enough, there's always scrambled eggs," Laxus offered.

"Laxus, I'm serious!"

"Relax, Babe, our son has been doing wizard jobs and not paying any bills. He has a small fortune stuffed in a sock in his third drawer."

He fell asleep in the middle of their conversation, and she growled some insult he only replied to with a snore.

Once they arrived in Hargeon, he awoke and they checked into a favorite hotel before wandering the streets together. During their meanderings, they came to the cafe where they dined the night they made love for the first time and riding a wave of nostalgia, sat at the same table on the patio.

Lucy grinned like an idiot at him as she remembered the night, and looked around and found the beach still looked the same. She ordered the same meal and sat with the same man, albeit almost seventeen years later after a long, happy marriage and four wonderful children.

It was easy to feel in love when it came to her dragon.

He was a good man and he'd always taken such good care of her and their family.

"You're smiling at me like I did something considerate or sweet and I haven't lately," he said.

She waved off his concern. "Don't worry, Baby."

"Baby, huh? The way you use the word 'Baby' is like how our daughters use the word 'Daddy.' And then I wonder where they got that."

Lucy said, "So our kids figured out how to play us. Worse things have happened."

"Your right. You didn't see what She-Child 1 was trying to wear this morning."

His wife said, "I think you should relax about the girls and their clothes. I was a scantily clad teen and nothing bad happened. And there are all sorts of reasons a girl might want to wear a miniskirt or whatever. I agree she's too young for a lot, but you can't be the clothes police."

One of his brows rose. "You dressed like that because you wanted attention. And you got it, if my memory serves me correctly. I'm not having it. You were what, seventeen? And you had those little miniskirts every damn day. The first time I saw you I wanted to bend you over a table, spank you for being so bad, and then have that."

"That's disgusting, Laxus. Do you think all boys are as depraved and deranged as you are?"

"That is how the mind of a pubescent male functions. So no. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever."

Lucy learned to choose her battles when it came to parenting. They were the type of couple that really spent time with and on their kids, so even when they were away from them, it was normal for them to think and talk about them. There were matters they disagreed upon, and this was one of them. Lucy didn't think there was a problem with a girl wearing a two-piece swimsuit, or many of the other things he objected to.

Laxus was willing to fight to the death over it, so she decided their daughters would just have to deal with their cranky dragon daddy.

They walked the shops, and he bought her a necklace and held her hand and she responded by walking a little closer.

She loved him so much, and she knew he loved her more than anything in the world.

They went back to their hotel room, and after sex and sleep, there was more sex and sleep. This was followed by food and the main event, sex and sleep.

He still had a voracious sexual appetite.

His wife was fine with this because she also had an appetite, one that had probably been shaped by only being with her sex-loving husband.

With a big yawn, she snuggled up to him. "I read in a magazine that people that have been married for over ten years have sex an average of six times a month. So based on that, you've used up all your sex for the whole month."

His response was an incredulous glare and, "You're talking like you want me to put something in your mouth."

"Eww, gross!"

"How come dick sucking is thought of as being so crude but eating pussy is somehow awesome and romantic?"

The blonde sighed. "Laxus, were you reading my magazines again?"

"I was bored when you were in the shower."

"Those are written for women. Please just don't."

"I think men need their own magazine. Some literature where we can talk about how women always feel objectified by men yet they keep wearing the damn miniskirts," he argued.

Lucy said, "You guys already have your own literature. It's called pornography. And miniskirts and men have nothing in common!"

"Really? Why wear one? It's not functional. It won't keep you warm or covered. You can't bend over without giving the world a slice of life," he said.

"I'm not having this conversation with you again. We've literally had this same dialogue a hundred times and you still can't stop assuming girls are just trying to make guys horny and second that all guys are horny and desperate like you were at that age. I'm going to take a nap, be ridiculous if you want," she replied.

He was ready to sleep anyway, and was rolling over to 'snuggle her,' a practice she once described to Levy as 'laying on her like a big, hot hairy beached whale.' Laxus could practically _feel_ the perturbed expression on her face and bit down on her ear.

"The fact that our babies give you more crap than me is an example of karma at work," she said.

"But-!"

"If you want another ridiculous person to argue with, leave me alone and locate the nearest mirror. Thanks and goodnight."

XXX

Back in Magnolia, Anna Dreyar and Iggy Dragneel were revisiting a historical site. Or, it was important to the Dragneels at least. It was a little hut in the East Forest that Lisanna built when she and Natsu were small children so they could play house with their egg.

Lisanna, who found her son's new relationship all too cute, showed them the way down a familiar path. "This is a house for taking care of Exceeds. Iggy, me and your dad looked after Happy's egg here."

Natsu was really proud of his son, not only because he had a girlfriend, but because he was such a good kid even Laxus couldn't tell him no. If that wasn't a shining recommendation, he didn't know what was. Besides, Iggy was really excited, and as he'd been given permission to hold hands, every time Natsu saw his son he had that girl's hand.

Seeing he and Anna heft the big egg around made him grin like an idiot because it reminded him of when he and his wife were kids. It was really cool to him that his best friend's baby and his baby liked each other, and he knew Lucy felt the same way.

Lisanna packed them a picnic and they sat in the hut together and took turns hugging the egg to keep it warm after the parents left them. Sometimes, they hugged it together.

"An Exceed is like a real baby, you know. I'll be the mom," Anna said.

Iggy asked, "Didn't Mavis find it too?"

"Mavis can't be the mom. She would break the baby! I'm the Mom type, you know," she replied.

Iggy half-disappeared under his scarf. "I guess so…"

They had a lot of moments that made him squirm uncomfortably, and he didn't quite know why. "Maybe you're the Dad type too."

The boy nervously sputtered, "How would I know that?!"

"You're helping to take care of our baby, aren't you?"

It was too much, and he was too awkward as he blushed and jumped to his feet, "It's not mine! That's someone else's baby!"

Anna giggled at him, showing her slight Dreyar troll-streak. "You're so cute, Iggy. I would never have someone else's baby, you know!"

He _knew_ she was making him nervous on purpose, yet he had no idea what to do to stop her. She was her father's daughter, her mother's little celestial spirit summoner, and she thought he was so cute when he blushed.

"Why are we talking about babies anyhow?!" he asked.

Anna snuggled the egg. "Because we're going to have a baby, Iggy."

Now she was walking the line of being sweet and teasing him and he didn't know which side she was on. He finally gave up and sat down again next to the egg.

The blonde was really happy to be around her friend and felt like he was the cutest boy there ever was. "What will we name our baby?"

"That's not my baby!" he nervously argued.

She peeked around the egg at him, blue eyes met green and she said, "We might have a real baby someday."

"WHAT?! What makes you say that?!"

Iggy clawed at his scarf nervously and wondered what kind of weird trouble his friend really was for him. He knew where babies came from, so to his young mind this was simply too much.

Anna smiled. "I have it all planned out."

"You planned what out?"

The blonde moved a little closer to him, sitting in front of him with her hands on the egg. "Our lives!"

"B-But!"

Anna said, "You can be my boyfriend until we grow up. We'll go on jobs together. We'll get strong together. You'll hopefully have a growth spurt and become taller than me."

Even though she was eleven and he was thirteen, she was a bit taller than he was. Girls did grow taller than most boys, but he was scrawny for a boy and she was taller than her older sister. A boy at school said she was 'leggy.' He didn't know what that meant, but she was mostly legs, he could confirm that.

"I'm trying. I drink tons of milk, you know. People laugh at a boy when his girlfriend is taller than him."

She waved him off. "It's okay. My dad says someday you're going to be stronger than Sam."

"Master said that? About me?"

The subject of magic power and strength was captivating to him. But she went back to the more bewildering subject instead.

Anna said, "When I turn seventeen, we can get engaged. Then, when I'm eighteen, we can get married. You'll be twenty. I want to have a big fluffy dress, and for my dad to walk me down the aisle. Then, after we get married, we'll live together in a little house at the edge of town. We'll be a team together, on jobs and at home. And then by the time I'm twenty-one I think we should have our first baby."

Iggy had _no idea_ what to say to any of this, and considered running for a minute. Girls were mysterious creatures to him, and as much as he liked his friend, he didn't know what to make of the fact that they'd been 'official' for a month and she already planned out their entire lives.

He really just wanted to hold hands and have fun and not think about about the vast ambiguity of their futures.

"How does that sound?" she asked.

"Ummmm...well…"

She giggled at him and leaned forward into his personal space.

"What are you doing?!" he asked.

"Close your eyes, Iggy."

He clenched them shut, as if she was about to hit him.

She put her hands on his cheeks and leaned in, and he felt her lips on his lips for a second.

The first thing that occurred to him was that her father had _specifically_ forbidden him from this. The second thing (which made him forget about the first) was that it was really the most amazing thing that he'd ever felt in his life. He awkwardly raised his hands, but had no idea what to do with them, so they hovered in the air.

His lips twitched in response and they made an awkward _smooch_ as the kiss ended and Anna let go of him and sat back on her heels, leaning over to give the egg a little snuggle. She giggled, and said, "You're so red, Iggy!"

He licked his lips and found they tasted like her cherry lip balm, so he licked them again.

They fell asleep on each side of the egg, and woke up when it was well after dark.

"Uh-oh! I'm supposed to be home by nighttime. Let's go!" she said in panic.

They scrambled, and Iggy carried the egg down the path through the forest, only they went down the wrong path and ventured toward the interior of the East Forest. It was nearly black due to the new moon, and even though Iggy could see fairly well in the dark, their surroundings made him antsy.

Along the way, they abruptly stumbled upon a fugitive: Erigor.

He was trying to sleep in the woods when the kids walked up on him, and he might have let them go if Anna didn't have the Fairy Tail emblem on the back of her hand.

"Fairy Tail…"

Anna went flying into a tree with a gust of wind, and Iggy's eyes widened in shock and then narrowed in rage. He dropped the egg, leapt blindly, fists ablaze, and she reached for her keys.

It reminded Erigor of something that happened a long time ago, but they were just children.

"Open, Gate of the Lion!"

Loke appeared and leapt into action. "He's a powerful mage. I'll hold him off. You two run. Go back down this path until you get to the edge of the city."

They were suddenly surrounded by a wall of wind, preventing their escape.

Loke pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Dammit. Erigor, you know there's hell to pay if you handle these kids roughly. There won't be a hole deep enough for you to crawl into where you'll be safe."

This meant little to someone who spent the majority of his life in an assassin's guild.

Iggy was almost laughably weak compared to Erigor, and Erigor was stronger than Loke, Anna's only golden key.

Erigor beat up on them senselessly, swinging his scythe at them while they tried to dodge it.

And then he swung and, half an inch from Anna's throat, and hit Loke who jumped to protect her. He vanished into a cloud of gold dust, and the two kids were left with a crazed, vengeful, and bloodthirsty monster.

Without Loke, she was the weakest of the Dreyars.

And he, he was the least of the dragons.

Erigor grazed Anna's side with the scythe, and there was a lot of blood.

Iggy heard her scream, and smelled the blood, and something in him snapped. He didn't care if he was the little weak dragon. He was still a dragon, and he was mad as hell that someone would hurt his friend.

His flames seemed to get hotter, bigger, and more powerful at the sight of his injured friend, but he was still nowhere near the level where he could pose a threat to Erigor. Just to humiliate Iggy, he dropped the wind barrier.

"Silly little boy. Your flames will never beat my wind. Maybe I need to hurt your friend a little more and you'll be more fun?"

He clenched his eyes shut, fisted his hands at his sides, and he was going to yell something but the only thing that came out was a devastating fire dragon's roar that put even Yuri's roar to shame. It sent the unsuspecting Erigor flying and even though it surprised Iggy that such a thing came from him, magic was pounding through his body in a way he'd never experienced and he chased Erigor to where he'd thrown him through several trees.

When Erigor recovered and started taking him seriously, Iggy had already turned the immediate area into an ashen wonderland. He might have been weak enough to mock at the beginning of the fight, but he was nobody to laugh at by that point. Even though Erigor still had the upper-hand, he started to suspect something about this kid and decided it would be best for him to leave immediately. The boy was using fire dragonslayer magic, and the only person who used that was someone Erigor never wanted to tangle with again.

He was running when he nearly ran directly into the Daddy Dragon, saint wizard Natsu Dragneel, arguably the most destructive magical force alive anywhere in the world. If it wasn't Natsu, it was Laxus, and now that he thought about it, he'd read somewhere Laxus had a bunch of little girls that probably looked a lot like that one...

Natsu looked past Erigor to his son, who had blood seeping from one eye, his nose, his lips, and his little fists. Anna's blood was thicker on the air, so he asked, "Son, where's Anna? I smell blood…"

"She's hurt, Dad!"

"Go take care of her," Natsu instructed.

Iggy ran to his friend and found she'd stood to her feet. "How can you stand?"

"Look who's talking," she gently said, still holding a hand to her side. "You're so strong, you know."

Another dragon ran up on them then as Yuri arrived out of breath in response to looking for his sister post-curfew and catching the scent of her blood in the air. He saw a tower of fire rise not far ahead and looked back down at his sister as she held her side.

"Anna, let me see," Yuri said.

Anna pulled her shirt up and revealed a deep wound on one side, but even though it was bleeding, it wasn't deep in the muscle tissue and didn't pose a threat to her life. They'd all been taught about combat injuries, so they were able to at least stay calm and not panic.

Yuri said, "Let's get out of here. Natsu can let loose if we're not here, and you're both beaten up pretty bad."

Anna took a step forward and Yuri swooped her up off the ground. "You're such a good brother."

"Whatever. I can't believe you missed curfew and got in all this trouble while Mom and Dad are gone."

"Iggy and I fell asleep," she said.

Yuri glared at Iggy who was limping next to him. "Iggy, I'll beat your tail into the ground if you ever keep my sister out after dark again."

He didn't know what he'd tell his parents, but he felt like Erigor probably need to count himself fortunate. Natsu wasn't really a killer, but Yuri knew his dad well enough to know his father had spilled a little blood in his life.

They all ended up at the Dreyar house, where Chelia stitched and Wendy healed after arriving in response to Mavis banging on their door during dinner.

Natsu came about an hour later, carrying the big egg, which was unharmed despite the fight. He'd always known his son was packing some serious heat, but Iggy was just such a nice kid he couldn't unload on Sam or Yuri because they were friends. In that respect, he was his father's son, down to the tiniest details.

Raising wizards, fights were inevitable, and so were injuries, and both parents and kids were prepared for that. Anna was amazingly brave, and still sweet as ever. Mavis wanted to find Erigor and suggested Yuri hold him down while they kicked him to death.

Layla was mostly quiet, but Natsu knew she had her moments. She was a moody kid, prone to outbursts like her mother who used to kick the crap out of him for sneaking into her apartment. In terms of magic, she was a holy terror and the only reason Yuri was known as the powerful sibling was because Layla hadn't flexed her muscles in a public setting yet.

Since the Dreyars were without parents when this happened, Natsu decided he and Iggy would stay overnight just in case. He didn't really think anyone in the world was that stupid, and Erigor wasn't going to be able to move for a while, but the kids were serious business.

Mavis made the big bed in Makarov's old room and Layla cooked for all of them. Yuri paced back and forth, checking the windows periodically.

When they had eaten and got ready to go to retire, Iggy and Natsu settled into the bed and after the light was out, Iggy said, "Dad, today was a good day."

Natsu turned the light back on. "You have eleven stitches and probably twenty scabs and a dozen bruises."

"We kissed."

He felt like his son had been taking it pretty well, and with this revelation, Natsu realized his son didn't give two shits about being beaten up because the girl he liked kissed him and the rest of it didn't matter.

Natsu turned out the light again. "Ah, so you're still on top of the world, just with some extra stitches and a little less blood."

"I didn't know what to do with my hands. But Dad, she already planned our whole lives out for us."

His father smiled in the dark at the magic of the little hut where his son evidently had the same awkward moments he had. "Don't worry, your mom did the same thing to me."

"That makes me worry more."

"Girls are good at that kind of thing. It's best to just let them be how they are. You're going to grow up and appreciate that kind of thing."

Iggy said, "But also...Master told me I couldn't kiss her, and I did anyway. And I liked it."

Natsu was amused by this, and while he would never tell his son it was acceptable to disobey Laxus, it was still funny as hell. Iggy was the one people tended to look over, but suddenly, with the encouragement of a certain celestial wizard, he was becoming ferocious and a little defiant.

"Son you better be careful. Pretty sure Master will peel your lips off if he catches you."

By the time the kids woke up the next morning, their parents had already returned home after receiving an emergency message from Magnolia the night before.

Anna awoke to the feeling of her parents coming to sit on either side of the bed. "Hi Mom, Hi Dad. You didn't have to come home for me."

Lucy leaned down and kissed her. "You're our baby, so of course we came. Natsu said you got a nasty gash."

Anna pulled up her pajama top to reveal a line of stitches remedied mostly by healing magic. "It's not bad."

Laxus scowled and realized if the wound, despite not being life-threatening, would have been deadly if it was just three inches over. He was infuriated, and he wanted to hunt down Erigor. Natsu claimed to have beaten him within an inch of his life, and Laxus really felt like taking that inch.

It raised a lot of questions.

Why would a dark wizard come anywhere near Magnolia?

It made all the adults uneasy, because there were signs that the dark side of magic was starting to sputter back to life after over a decade and a half of silence.

Lucy babied her daughter, and for once, Anna was fine with someone else nurturing her. She fed her and helped her get dressed, although she stayed in bed anyway.

Downstairs, Iggy was keeping the egg warm, because he knew it's what _she_ wanted. Mavis offered to help, but her attention span wasn't conducive to just being still. He in no way thought of the egg as his baby, but if it made Anna happy, he'd take good care of it.

He was sitting on the couch in the Dreyar house when Laxus came downstairs and stared at him. Suffering from a guilty conscience, he was scared Anna had told him they kissed and his life was about to be terrible.

Instead, Laxus looked down at him for a long time, and then reached out for one of his bruised, busted knuckles. It wasn't hard to figure out he'd reached a whole new level trying to protect Anna, and that made him happy as a father.

"You're a good kid," he finally said ruffling the boy's hair in a way that was recognizably affectionate.

Once Natsu and Iggy had gone home, Lucy and Laxus were in the kitchen when she said, "I think it's time to move another key to Anna. It might save her in a pinch."

He nodded in understanding. "Which?"

"Maybe Taurus."

Laxus was immediately against the idea. "I want to see them together."

This thought lingered in the air until Anna hobbled down the stairs in the late afternoon.

Laxus sat in his chair with a tumbler of whiskey, and Anna sat on the sofa while Lucy summoned Taurus.

Lucy smiled and said, "Taurus, you know my daughter."

Taurus practically had stars in his eyes. "Young body, BOOOOOOOOOtiful body! Miss Anna, how about a SMOOOOOOOCH!"

There was a lightning bolt, and the spirit disappeared. "Next," Laxus said.

Lucy waved her key at him. "Don't electrocute my spirits. They have feelings!"

"Dad, that's like kicking a puppy," Anna echoed.

"And on that note, let me just voice my dissent with Plue," he said.

Anna asked, "Daddy, why not Plue?"

Lucy said, "Laxus that was one time _seventeen years ago_. Talk about hold a grudge! Let it go already!"

"Maybe in another seventeen years," he mumbled under his breath.

 _ **Please Review!**_

AN: I started another Lalu called _Into the Stars_. It's kind of a darker fic.

 _ **Special thanks to Firefox94, kurakieiritr JIO, princezuko98, olympe, theoginger, krissy, yumeyumi1986, arouraleona, flamey owl, pandorababe, 17, boyceashlee, katiekat2001, thornado, lovelylovelylove, lunastarlady, jhdavis, megumiyoung, fairytailbookworm, sexyvampires4all, and helenezahl for reviewing!**_


	46. The Score

The egg rumbled for hours, and the Dreyar kids waited impatiently for it to hatch. By the time 4am rolled around and the first cracks appeared in the egg, they were asleep all over the living room floor, under blankets their mother had spread over them.

Lucy and Laxus stayed up, awaiting the new arrival to the Dreyar family.

"It's been awhile since there was a baby in the family," he said.

His wife grinned at him. "I kind of miss it sometimes."

They found each other grinning at one another feeling as in-love as ever, but then the egg rumbled again, and he said, "I'm ready for it to come already."

The blonde rubbed her toe on his ankle under the table. "You're always so impatient about babies. It'll come when it's ready. It takes me back though. Remember when I was pregnant with Yuri and you'd lay there and try to talk him into coming out?"

"Stubborn kid. Two weeks late and then decides he's going to come out suddenly. Look how huge he is now," her husband mused.

She smiled at him. "It's been an adventure, that's for sure. It's so interesting watch them grow up and be so different. We've got good kids."

The egg suddenly shattered and a black and orange Exceed floated up, flapping her little wings. It plopped down into Anna's arms, recognizing the one who had taken care of the egg most.

The kids piled around her, touching rubbing the baby Exceed's silky fur and talking all at once.

Lucy took a small fish from the refrigerator she'd purchased for their new addition and took it to the kids, who fed 'the baby' and awwwed over her every move and sound.

Laxus asked, "What are you guys going to name her?"

Anna said, "Rai!"

'RaiRai' was the kids' nickname for the late Raijin, their beloved pet tiger with whom they played, took naps, and grew up with. And, Laxus and Lucy thought it was a little meaningful that their Exceed would be tiger-striped, almost as if the tiger had returned to them in some way or another.

The Exceed squeaked, "Rai!" and continued nibbling on the fish.

The parents observed as their children to tend to 'the baby,' observing them as they took turns nurturing and holding the tiny Exceed, who was all too happy to take all of their attention and then some.

They put the baby to sleep in a baby basket they'd bought together and ended up going right back to sleep all over the living room again, at which point their parents finally decided to head to bed.

The next morning was an exciting one at the guild, with everyone fawning over the newest Exceed while Anna protected Rai from being overcrowded or bothered like an excited new parent.

Halfway to noon, Laxus and Lucy were working in the office when Anna knocked and came in. Mavis had a job flyer in hand and Anna was carrying the basket with the Exceed.

Lucy said, "It's scary when you guys are together like real twins."

"You're going to jinx us, Mom," Mavis replied, holding up the job flyer to their mother. "We want to go on this job."

Laxus asked, "Who is 'we.'"

"Yuri and Layla and us."

"All four of you? And no adults?" Lucy pointedly inquired.

Anna smiled. "Yuri's an adult."

"Since when?" their mother asked.

"He shaves," Mavis argued, as if the presence of a handful of wiry blond hairs on their brother's chin proved he'd achieved adulthood.

Mavis persistently stepped between them. "Please, Mama! It's safe and we'll have a good time. It's an easy job. All we have to do is go, climb a rocky hill, beat up some moles, and come home. They are small. It's perfect for us and we'll be back in time for school on Monday."

The parents were more than a little disinclined at first, because they were both still trying to get over the idea Layla had been targeted and recently injured. In the end, they were a family of wizards and each and every one of them had to learn to stand on their own, especially her. As a celestial spirit summoner, she might be targeted for the rest of her life, and the sooner she learned to win, the safer she would be. Realistically, with Yuri they were in very little danger. With Layla, even less.

As long as they were walking the path of magic, there would be danger, and they were starting to enter the crucial period of their lives when they would grow the most, and soar above their challenges through blood, sweat, and tears. Sheltering them might do far more harm than letting them learn how to become champions in their own right.

The two parents had a wordless conversation with nothing more than a few quick glances, and Lucy took the stamp from the drawer. "You guys have to be careful."

Laxus asked, "What about Rai?"

Anna lit up. "You and Mama can watch the baby. She has to eat every four hours. She needs lots of protein!"

Laxus looked over at Lucy then back at his daughter, and finally back at Lucy. "I think our baby is telling us how to take care of a baby. And, furthermore, our baby thinks she can just run off and leave us to look after this kid she decided to have."

Lucy smiled at him. "Consider this a sneak peek at the inevitable future."

"You're the grandpa!" Mavis said, a little mischief clear in her voice. "Anyway, bye! We're going to go pack! And find Yuri!"

Lucy asked, "Does your brother know he's going on a job?"

"Not yet!" they answered in unison.

The office door slammed shut, and Lucy took the baby Exceed from the basket. Newborn Exceeds weren't really that helpless, but this one seemed happy enough to soak up all the coddling and cuddling.

Laxus sighed. "For a split second, I thought we were going to have the weekend to ourselves."

Lucy snuggled the Exceed. "Oh, don't be like that. You, me, a baby...it'll be like the good old days. We could have another one, you know."

Her husband gave her a confused expression. "Who is this 'we' you speak of? It's bad enough they leave us with this little cat."

His wife smiled and said, "I can just see them all grown up, going on jobs, and leaving the grandkids with us. Iggy and Yuri Jr!"

Her husband rolled his eyes. "In other words, our kids are going to make babies and we're going to take care of them while they work."

"Yes! Gams and Grams! But, I do kind of miss having a baby," she said.

Her husband replied, "This is why I wouldn't let them have a pet."

Lucy scratched the Exceed's head lovingly. "I miss baby kicks and baby snuggles and staying up all night rocking cranky newborns."

Those _were_ wonderful things, and even though Laxus occasionally pretended to be annoyed with their kids, he loved their family. He was glad they had a full house, and the idea wasn't terrible to him. He also missed some things about having babies and little kids.

"I like babies. They're fun to make, I don't have to give birth, and I think we've mastered the art of the newborn. But the problem is that if we have another kid, it's going to grow up, go through puberty, and become annoying like the other ones. I thought the first one was defective, but four in a row makes me think they're all like that," he teased.

She smiled.

He smiled back, "Do you really want to do this? I'm forty-one. You're thirty-five. Our son is fifteen."

"Hell no. I'm just teasing."

The next day, the Dreyar kids easily completed their mission and after splitting the handsome reward, they boarded the train back to Magnolia. Their last stop of the night in Shirotsume town where they had to switch rails only to find there wasn't another train going out. This meant they were going to miss a day of school and invoke the wrath of their parentals.

They rented two rooms right next to each other at a resort that was just about to close when they arrived, and once the girls were settled in, Yuri went into his room and opened the window.

Shirotsume Town was famous for two things: spas and a guild called Sabertooth.

That meant he was close to his ex-girlfriend, the only girl he'd ever liked. He sat in the windowsill for a long time and thought about everything: about how he felt, about how he wondered if she still cared, about whether or not she'd see him.

It was already two in the morning, and far too late to just drop by for a visit. He decided he wanted to get close enough to breathe in her scent and then he'd leave.

So he slipped through the window and followed a scent he'd grown up loving through the strange town she'd left him for. Eventually, he came to a house in a nice little neighborhood where Sting and Yukino lived with Lilia Eucliffe and a couple of babies.

Now Yuri was so close he wanted badly just to say hello, but he didn't know which one of the windows led to Lilia. If he scaled the tree and entered one of the bedrooms, it was possible he'd fall through Sting's window, and that would be bad for his general wellbeing.

A light flicked on and a window opened.

She had sensed him.

And that made him happy, because it was proof of dragons that had bonded together.

Lilia gestured for him to come up, and he looked around. Yuri honestly knew better than to sneak into a girl's bedroom in the middle of the night, but the fact that it was wrong was half of the thrill. The other half was leaping from the tree on the big oak to the windowsill and suddenly being close to the only girl he'd ever had affections for.

He grinned like an idiot.

So did she.

"Hi."

"Hi," he answered with a smirk.

The wooden windowsill cracked a little under his weight, making a sound that was very audible to Sting's ears, enough even to wake him up.

"Get in here!" she whispered.

"Your dad will kill me!"

Lilia quickly shut the window and embraced Yuri tightly. Breakup or no, she still loved him to pieces. They'd literally grown up together, and she felt very lonely without him. He'd gotten taller, and a little more muscular since their separation, and he found her body had changed too, although not in a way he'd ever point out.

There was a knock on the door, and then Sting's voice. "Hey, Lilia, I heard a noise a minute ago. Are you okay?"

"Fine, Daddy!"

"Can I come in?"

Lilia lifted the covers. "Hide!"

Yuri slithered between her sheets like a snake and she threw a bunch of pillows over the lump he left in the bed.

"Come in!"

Sting came in, looked around, and sensed something wasn't quite right, but he wasn't sure what it was. Yuri hadn't been in the room long enough that the room had a specific scent.

"Go to bed already. It's crazy late. You want a tuck-in?" Sting asked.

Lilia just wanted him to leave before he realized she was hiding an intruder, so she carefully got into her bed and Sting sat on the edge of the bed and tucked her in.

"Goodnight, Kid."

"Goodnight, Daddy."

Yuri was scared to breathe and held his body completely still as he knew Sting's hand was mere inches from him.

Sting turned out the lights and left, and as soon as he was gone, she felt a tickling sensation at one ankle and giggled into the sheets. Yuri wiggled up and she pushed the covers down to look at his grinning face, his eyes lit by mischief and joy at being with her at least for a minute.

They were still teenagers in love, filled with optimism and enthusiasm for one another.

They spent an hour talking about everything: Rai the Exceed, Iggy and Anna's fight, parents, friends, guilds, siblings…

They kissed and snuggled, and a little high on the thrill of doing something that was obviously against all the rules and scared of the separation they'd soon partake in, they engaged in a series of escalations.

And then she was on top of him, quietly giggling in his ear before she whispered, "Yuri, I want you to be my first."

"First what?" he dumbly asked.

She started to unbutton her pajama top and he gained a swift understanding of what she was referring to.

Yuri licked his lips nervously and sat up on his elbows. "Are you serious?" he whispered.

"It's gonna be someone. It should be you."

"Now?"

Lilia nodded and reached over him to the nightstand, where she pulled out a box and retrieved a foil packet. "My dad has really never said anything to me about sex except that if I want to be stupid, please don't be 'all the way stupid.'"

"Is that a condom?"

"Yes."

"That's for…"

"Yes."

His physiology was certainly on board with it, and he didn't really have any bad motives. He couldn't think of any reason to say no.

Lilia pulled his shirt off and he embraced her and pushed her unbuttoned top to the ground, allowing bare skin to press against bare skin and ignite a dizzying, intense burn.

The next hour was sighs in the dark, hands and lips in new places doing new things, followed by three minutes of Yuri fumbling with the condom with shaking hands and then the best, most amazing sensations either of them had ever experienced.

And suddenly, it was morning, and Yuri woke up in Sting Eucliffe's house, in his daughter's bed while she slept curled up beside him, long hair spilling around her. When she stirred, it was only to gaze up at him with warm, adoring eyes.

"I have to go. If I get caught here, I'll be something a little worse than dead," he said.

Lilia held him a little tighter. "We made love."

Yuri felt a little silly blushing about it after, but he couldn't help it. It was the biggest thing that had happened to him. He wasn't a virgin. She wasn't a virgin. They'd had sex. Real, important, and wonderful sex.

"Yuri, I want us to be together when we're older," she said.

Yuri kissed her hair. "Me too. We'll figure it out, okay?"

"Will you visit me again?"

He grinned. "Of course, Lilia. You're still my girl after all, right?"

Lilia smiled at Yuri, because he was always the optimist. She didn't really know if it would all go according to plan, but she wanted to believe in it. All his life, he'd been looking after her, and without him, she'd truthfully missed him more than she thought possible.

They said their goodbyes, and he slipped out. She immediately hauled all her sheets and blankets to the washroom to erase the evidence before her father figured out what had gone on in their house.

Yuri made it back to his room and was showered by the time his sleepier sisters awoke, only to find Mavis had slipped out at some point in the early morning.

The idea that his eleven-year-old baby sister was loose without supervision or protection was enough to make him sigh and acknowledge how troublesome women really were. While he went to search for her, she was searching for her own prey. This was her true mission and the entire reason she'd coerced her siblings into taking the job in the first place. She was a mastermind, and everything had gone according to her plan, down to missing the train and getting stuck in town overnight.

Orga J Nangear the Second was unsuspecting, and this time, purely a victim. He had a mouthful of ice cream and was walking alone when he was abruptly clocked upside the head by a neatly wrapped little box with a bow.

"Happy Birthday, Loser!" Mavis shouted.

Baby Orga was disoriented briefly, and rubbed his head as he stared at her. "A wild Dreyar has appeared! Ruggedly charming looks, I chose you!"

"Drop dead!"

The lightning god slayer picked up the gift and unwrapped it. "It is my birthday. This makes me feel really special. No one else gave me a concussion."

Mavis postured herself and cracked her knuckles. "Whatever. You want another one? I heard there's a buy one get one free sale."

Inside of the wrapped box was a baseball signed by his favorite athlete, which Mavis had learned about (along with his birthday) in a profile in Sorcerer's Weekly.

"Teedo Jones never signs autographs, how'd you get this? I begged him when I saw his game in Crocus," he asked.

The girl said, "I electrocuted him."

"All for me?"

"As if!"

Orga gave her a pat on the head. "This is really special. You're a pretty amazing girl, you know. I like how your face is all red."

Mavis punched him in the stomach and then, as he was gasping for breath, his face reddened. "Now we match. You're welcome!"

"Wait, wait, wait, come back my vicious princess!"

"Stop stalking me already!"

Orga argued, "I live here. This time you did it to me, but don't worry, I'm not mad. It's kind of hot. I know you can't resist this handsome face."

Mavis looked around and wondered where the nearest river was and how much effort she'd have to invest in order to beat him up and then throw him in it.

"You can come to my birthday party! I'll tell everyone you're my girl now."

"I'll stop waiting for you to drop dead and kill you myself!"

XXX

By the time the Dreyar kids got home, they'd completed a job, crashed Orga's birthday party, and were partially responsible for turning the Sabertooth guild hall into a melee of next generation wizards from which Layla emerged the undisputed victor.

Rogue and Sting watched this and felt a little nervous at the crushing potential in the little wizard. She was stronger than any of the dragon kids, which was an upheaval in the magic world in which dragons ruled all. She was also petty and spiteful, as evidenced by the fact she only participated in the fight because someone said something disrespectful about the Dreyar name. Up until that moment, she'd acted like her job was to sit still and look pretty, but one ugly word about her family and she laid out everybody like clockwork.

The kids got home the same morning pictures ran in the newspaper, so while they were unpacking and getting ready to sleep off their grand adventure, their parents were sitting in the kitchen.

"I feel like our children are doing things they think we don't know about."

"What things?" Lucy asked.

Her husband said, "Obviously, we don't know. I doubt very seriously they accidentally ended up at Sabertooth."

Lucy was bouncing the Exceed on her shoulder. "They're starting to have their own adventures. That's exciting. I remember when I ran away from home how it felt to just explore and get to know the world around me. Go to new places and do new things."

"Lying little sneaks."

Once the kids were fed and catching up on missed sleep, Laxus went on to the guild.

Layla walked alongside him as they made their way down the street. "Dad, I have a question."

"Okay."

"I'm the pretty one, right?"

Laxus' brow rose a little. "I feel like this is going to be a weird conversation."

Layla said, "Look, Yuri apparently still has Lila, and Mavis that annoying mint-head, and Anna has Iggy. You know what that means?"

"You're the only one of my children whose hormones aren't detrimental to me having a good day?"

His daughter said, "How can the pretty one be the one without a boyfriend? That doesn't even make sense. Dad, I need a boyfriend. Like now. But Sam is just ugh…"

Laxus sighed. "Baby, I'd keep you without a boyfriend for the rest of your life if I could. I'm wholly unsympathetic to you right now."

"Dad! I'm serious! I need a boyfriend!"

He glared at her and said, "Not because you like a specific person, but because you feel left out. Stop being a thirteen-year-old girl already."

"I did. I'm fourteen now, remember? I don't know how you forgot my birthday and it's New Year's Day. I feel like by this point in my life you should realize my birthday is the day you run out of squares on your calendar."

"Oh right, _all_ grown up now. And I said I was sorry."

Layla stuck her nose up. "Sorry doesn't cut it, Dad. Have you forgotten Mom's birthday?"

"Yes."

"You're terrible. How did you even get married?!"

Her father said, "By being a great guy."

"Yeah, right! I believe that."

He bent an arm down and pulled her against him while she struggled against this forced hug. "Look, I don't know what is wrong with your siblings, but somehow you're my favorite now. Your hormones only make you cranky and terrible to live with. That's why you're going to help me with paperwork."

Layla pulled away forcibly. "I think I just remembered something important I need to do."

"What is so important you can't spend the day with your dear old dad?"

"Dad, stop trying to act like spending the day with you is some daddy-daughter bonding experience. We both know you're going to give me the paperwork, then fall asleep at your desk."

Her father found this summary of his plans for the day true and was pleased that his daughter knew him so well. "Being a father is exhausting, especially when your kids go on a job as a cover to visit another town and party with a rival guild."

"I didn't know anything about that. No one told me. Anna and I got left by ourselves at the party and had to listen to that stupid Cheney boy read poetry about dragons. And I quote, 'scaly, shadowed, strong, I miss you for so long.'"

Laxus said, "When you guys do something I have not approved of and have no fun, it's satisfying to me."

"You're petty, Daddy."

"Says the girl who won't go outside if her headband doesn't match her necklace."

"It's called fashion, Dad. I don't expect you to understand. You dress like you are in one of those old rock bands where everyone is getting old and nobody acts like it. Gray hair and leather pants, really?" she asked.

Laxus scowled. "Okay, you're officially the unfavorite again. Brat."

Layla hugged on his arm. "I love you, Daddy."

With a little bit of coaxing, Laxus convinced his most intellectually-gifted child to do his paperwork for him. He wondered what his life would be like had he not been surrounded by extremely brilliant women, but he assumed it wouldn't have gone so smoothly. Besides, surrounding himself with smart women made him look smart too.

Back at the house Yuri stirred and found his mother was at home working with Anna on a school project. He suddenly felt nervous and strange around her, like she was going to look at him and just know what he'd done. And then he felt guilty, because he knew how she felt about her baby boy growing up.

It didn't take Lucy long to realize something was amiss in the world of her precious son. When she finished with her daughter, she tried to casually approach her son only to find that Yuri practically ran from her and left the house.

"Yuri!"

He didn't come home until dinnertime, and after eating, immediately went straight up to his room.

By the time it was nine o'clock, he knew his parents were probably having the 'something is wrong with our teenager' talks, so he crept down to the basement to lift weights. He determined the talk had already taken place because his father was watching him carefully.

"I'm fine," he said.

"I didn't ask," his father replied.

The boy lifted the weight and sat up. "Something happened, Dad."

"On your job?"

"No. The job was fine. Boring. In Shirotsume Town."

His father nodded and crossed his arms. "I heard you went to the party with Lilia. You have confused feelings?"

He shook his head. "I'm actually not confused at all."

"Then what's the problem?"

Yuri chewed on his bottom lip nervously. "Dad, I just wanted to smell her. I didn't really intend for it to happen."

"Please don't ever utter the phrase 'I just wanted to smell her' to anyone else. Someone who doesn't have dragon blood wouldn't understand, it makes you sound like a gross creep. But anyway, what happened?"

His son nervously said, "I spent the night with her."

"Like, slept in the same bed?"

Yuri shook his head.

It took a few seconds for Laxus to process the information, but as he did, his brows rose higher and higher, a look of surprised bewilderment on his face. "...wow."

He sat down next to his son on the weight-lifting bench and put his hand on his son's head. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"She okay?"

"Yeah."

Laxus sighed, long and slowly, and asked, "Did you use protection?"

Yuri nodded. "Was that wrong, Dad?"

Laxus knew they were walking a fine line, and if he responded according to his gut instinct, he might erode the precious trust they had. He didn't like the idea at all, but he also remembered being fifteen and doing the same thing, only just for the sake of doing it.

Yuri had grown up alongside Lilia, and when she moved away, he didn't really ever start looking at or talking to other girls again. It was pretty obvious he was stuck, and Sting told him Lilia had been moping around without him too.

"You've always been a really good kid. From when you were tiny, you loved your sisters and your mom and just went along with all these crazy girls around you. Then you were scared of all the other girls in the world-I think maybe you just assumed they were all as batty as Dreyar girls are. But your first day of school you came home and all you wanted to talk about was this poor girl you bothered the hell out of all day, and that was just kind of your thing as soon as you met Lilia. You'd follow her around and get on her nerves, but it was good for her because she was really lonely."

"So was it wrong?"

Laxus shook his head. "It's probably a little stupid, but it's not wrong. I don't want you to be having sex yet, but the fact that you are doesn't mean you've done anything immoral or bad. And honestly, becoming an adult means making a thousand decisions that are dumb as fuck but not wrong. It's your life, not mine. I made all my own idiot teenager decisions and you have to make yours. But if you'd not been safe, I'd be taking it a lot worse."

Yuri asked, "Are you mad at me?"

"No. Kind of shocked. Don't take this the wrong way, but you're kind of an idiot with girls. So I feel like it was her idea. I don't really see you as the type to get hot and try to talk a girl into it. Which is good. It's good to let a girl decide when she wants to," he said.

Laxus put an arm around his son and brought him into a chokehold. "Are you planning on continuing this?"

Yuri choked out the word 'yes,' and his father's grip tightened.

"You're going to be careful and safe?"

Another choked affirmative reply followed.

Laxus thumped him on the tip of the nose. "Kid, I love you, but if you get her pregnant, you will be learning how to burp a baby in a body cast. Understand?"

He released Yuri and the boy rubbed his throat. "You're not going to tell Mom, are you?"

"Two things: First, and you should make a note of this because it now applies to you, a real man doesn't lie to the woman he's intimate with. I bother the shit out of your mom all day long, but I don't keep secrets from her and I don't lie. Second, you're not being raised by uptight asshole parents who are going to react crazy. She's your mother. She loves you."

The two spoke for a long time, about what happened, about Yuri's relationship with Lilia, and about how a man should treat someone he is intimate with. Laxus had a suspicion Lilia was going to be a part of his son's life for the immediate future, and maybe forever. They'd taken a leap forward beyond kids who messed around to young adults who whispered plans in the dark about the future that lay ahead of them.

Yuri eventually trudged upstairs to talk to his mother, who was sitting on the couch in the living room with a book and a glass of wine with her feet up. "Hey Mom."

"If it isn't my son who has avoided me all day."

He sat down next to her. "So uhhh...some stuff happened."

"That's very descriptive and helps me understand what's going on with you. I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to let me know," she sarcastically replied as she put her book and wine down on the coffee table.

Yuri scratched his head, looked away, and awkwardly blurted out, "I'm not a virgin anymore, Mom!"

Lucy's eyes widened, and she asked, "You mean you...and then...you. You. What? You didn't, you're my baby boy. Or maybe...I think we've established you're my horny baby boy. Saw that with my own eyes."

She reached for her wine and Yuri realized it wasn't her first glass. Or her second.

"Mom, are you drunk?"

Lucy said, "I'm not drunk and you didn't have sex. See? Lying is fun."

"Mom."

She downed the rest of her wine and refilled it from a bottle there on the coffee table. "You know your dad and I were talking about having another baby. While our baby was out trying to make a baby."

"Mom, I was not. Lilia and I used protection and I think we should wait until tomorrow to talk. Why are you drunk?"

"I'm drunk because my son wasn't talking to me, and I think I'm too old to have a baby."

Yuri took the bottle of wine. "Okay, Mom. You've had enough."

"I'm not mad at you. I'm a cool parent, remember?"

"You're a drunk parent."

Yuri decided this was probably the best luck he could have caught with his mother, who was ranting about how she didn't need to go make a baby if he was going to go do it. He replied to this by expressing just how careful he was, and she waved him off and informed him that Layla had been an accident and therefore it could happen to him as well.

The conversation went downhill from there, and culminated with Lucy challenging her son to battle over the rest of the wine, which he continued to deny her. She tripped and he caught her.

"Geeze, Mom."

"Shhh. I made you."

Yuri said, "Let's go upstairs, okay?"

Lucy went back to the sofa. "Don't tell me what to do. I'm the parent. You're my big handsome baby boy. You were so fat and cute when you were born. Your head was really lopsided when you came out of me."

"Mom."

"It sort of ended up being the right shape, but sometimes I look at you and I can see it's still a little cone-shaped. If I have another baby, will his head be misshapen too? Do I want another kid with a weird head?"

Laxus came up from the basement and found his son trying to keep wine away from his intoxicated wife. Since Lucy had only become completely intoxicated a handful of times in their entire marriage, he was very confused as to why, but the booze seemed to have softened the blow. She was, at the moment, giving Yuri a graphic retelling of how he was born and why his head looked like it did. The conclusion of the story was that he better practice safe sex if he didn't want to make a baby with a funny-looking head.

Lucy snatched the bottle and refilled her glass, raising it to toast. "To grandparenting, since I'm too old to have more babies."

"Babe, you are shitfaced drunk."

"It's my anniversary, I can get drunk if I want to!"

Laxus seemed blank. "Oops."

"Yeah, oops. You and your son," she matter-of-factly answered, "You guys can go to oops-land and go oopsy all you want."

Laxus gestured to Yuri. "You can go upstairs. This is like an S-Class quest, you need to have had the crap kicked out of you a few times to know what to do."

Yuri said, "Love you, Mom. Sorry if I disappointed you."

Lucy gave him the biggest, longest, most awkward hug. "Goodnight, my non-virgin son. I love you just the same."

"Th-Thanks."

Laxus let his wife sit in the living room drinking wine and sharing her thoughts on life while he washed dishes and tidied the house up a little. It really wasn't his intention to forget, and he had no excuse for doing so. To be fair, he believed she should have known to put it on his calendar.

He carried her upstairs and put her to bed, listening to her drunk, slurred rants well into the morning.

XXX

"The sun...it's extra bright today. Turn it off," Lucy growled upon awaking the next morning.

Laxus closed the curtains and brought her orange juice and a bagel. "Sorry about our anniversary."

Lucy sat up in the bed. "My head hurts."

"I can't believe you got that drunk while the kids were home."

The blonde said, "Our son is having sex?"

"Yes."

"Did the world end?"

"No."

Lucy laid back down. "He's okay and they were safe?"

"Of course. Our son isn't an idiot. They're not bad kids."

She stared up at the ceiling for a while. "I told our son his sister was an accident, and that sex leads to babies with deformed heads."

Laxus shrugged. "He'll be fine. Fairy Tail is full of drunks, so it's not the first time he's seen a drunk person rambling nonsense."

"Come lay down with me?"

He snuggled into the bed with her and felt her nestle as close as possible to him. "Happy Anniversary."

"Happy Anniversary."

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to JustLoverly, Guest, LucyXHeartfiliaXFan, xxShyxx, yed01, kurahieiritr JIO, Olympe, RoseMcKellar, guest, swallowmysoul, yumeyumi1986, thunderbabyfan, lunastarlady, arouraleona, megumiyoung, andy24amk, jenheartal, helenezahl, tiernank, flamey owl, mewhee89, paname, HoneyClouds, katiekat2001 for reviewing!**_


	47. The Mouths of Babes

Watching a baby grow into an adult was the most wondrous thing to Laxus and Lucy, together now for many years and parents to four growing kids who were developing into...well…

Lucy stared daggers across the counter at her son when he wasn't looking. He'd just come in from a job, and she was having a hard time fitting together a timeline of events for his travels. He supposedly stayed overnight because he was tired, but he didn't really look like he'd been sleeping.

Yuri was exhausted as hell and twice as hungry.

Lucy knew what made a man tired and ravenously hungry, and then realized that his job would have allowed him to stop in Shirotsume Town and see his girlfriend on the way back. So, mystery solved: he finished his job, spent the night with a girl, and came home ravenously hungry and exhausted.

He looked up and smiled at her as she put a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon before him. "You're the best, Mom."

She forced herself to smile. "Thanks, son. Eat up. You look so tired. I don't want you working so hard, but I'm guessing you don't mind the work."

Yuri had the fork in his mouth when he picked up his mother's sarcasm. "Did I do something?"

"I know where you've been."

The thing that was perhaps most bothersome was how he didn't flinch, didn't blush, and just kept eating his eggs. Lucy had petty, momentary regrets about being mature parents who taught their children sexuality was normal and nothing to be ashamed of because really - how dare he crawl out of some girls bed and then ask her to feed him?

Her brow twitched.

Yuri said, "I miss your cooking whenever I go, Mom. Sam and I ate at a really nice restaurant but food is better if Mom makes it."

Lucy really couldn't stay mad at her baby boy. He was sweet as ever, even growing into a man, and being raised with three baby sisters who had been pulling on him longer than he could remember, he was gentle in some ways and a clumsy brute in others. He knew how to deflect a woman's rage instinctively, and did so with more finesse than one would expect.

He was halfway through his meal when he looked up and said, "Is there anything you want? I want to do something nice for you."

How could _anyone_ be angry at that cute face, his mother wondered.

"I have everything I want."

He suddenly brightened. "I remember! You wanted to eat at that new restaurant by the river."

"Fiona's! That's right. Your dad doesn't like that style of food, and then Levy and I were talking about going."

Yuri kept smiling while he asked, "You want to go with me, Mom?"

He was so cute she was momentarily inclined to overlook the fact he was grinning in part because he loved his mother and in part because he'd recently had sex.

"On a date? With my baby boy?"

Yuri said, "Of course. You're my favorite girl, right?"

This was the Son of Laxus; ridiculous, handsome, and in these little moments he was having more often, so genuinely, sweetly, and wonderfully charming. He'd learned well from watching his parents; Laxus was the master of doing things to get on her nerves and charming his way right back out of them.

Lucy walked around the counter to hug his neck a little tighter than was comfortable. "You're such a cutie, Yuri. Anyone would be lucky to go out on a date with my handsome baby boy! I'll let you take a nap first."

She suddenly realized how mothers became enablers for sons. If Yuri had said, 'Hey, Mom, I just buried some people in the basement,' she felt like she would have asked him if that made him more hungry.

"Do you want more bacon?"

"Of course!"

Once Yuri was full, he promptly went to sleep on the couch and snored, causing Lucy to grumble something about how much he was like his father and roll her eyes before she went upstairs to decide what she would wear for her date.

Laxus came home at two in the afternoon to find his son dead asleep in the living room while Mavis and Rai drew all over his face and giggled. He was grinning in his sleep, and sleeping like a rock while two forces of mischief had their way with him.

"Kid, leave your brother alone, he's tired from his job."

Mavis rolled her eyes. "You want to try?"

Laxus knelt and said, "When I was a little boy, I was in the East Forest and I found a huge plant seed. I brought it home, and planted it. It grew up to be a carnivorous demon plant and tried to eat me."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You're a seed of mine too. You're going to grow up and I'm a little terrified of what you're going to turn into."

Mavis smiled. "Don't worry. You're safe. If I turn into a carnivorous plant demon, I'd probably want my meals to be young and juicy, and let's face it: your young and juicy days are long gone, Dad. "

She offered him the marker, and he took it and glared at her.

Laxus drew some eyelashes on his son and found it _was_ fun. He already had hearts and lipstick and a beard and mustache emblazoned in black marker on him, and Mavis had even been kind enough to accentuate a pimple with detailed contouring with red and pink markers.

And, no sooner had he drawn on Yuri's face than the girl phased through the floor with a loud clap of thunder and disappeared into the basement. Yuri was startled to consciousness and found his father there with a marker.

"Dad?"

"Ah, dammit. I've been had. It was Mavis!"

His son wiped his face and looked at his hand, which was smeared in black. "Dad! Did you write on me?!"

Rai the Exceed was silent and reverted back to pretending to be a helpless baby when Laxus attempted to explain that he'd partaken in defacing his son because his eleven-year-old daughter told him to.

Yuri suspected mischief, and went to the bathroom where Anna helped scrub his face with paper towels and soap. From there, he went on to his room to get ready to take his mom out for a late lunch at the new restaurant.

His father meanwhile went upstairs and found Lucy looking a bit cute and getting ready to go.

"Getting cute for your husband?"

"Ha, you wish," she teased.

For a moment, he was bewildered and disappointed. "Why then?"

"I have a date."

"I wish you would try to go out on a date."

"I am!"

Laxus knew she was messing with him as it was far beyond reality to think she'd actually do anything with another man, but he still didn't like it. "So who are you going on with, may I ask?"

The blonde stood on her tiptoes, pulled him down for a quick kiss. "The younger, more handsome version of you asked me out to lunch. Sorry. I know if you're home at this time, it's for a little afternoon delight, but how about we reschedule and you can use this time slot for a little sad wanky time?"

"Sad wanky time…God, masturbation is humiliating and pathetic enough _without_ that label," he answered, "So my choices are to go back to work and finish the budget or masturbate alone. Fuck my life."

Lucy kissed him again. "Go back to work. I'll take care of you later, okay? Unless I eat too much, in which case I'm going to take a long bath and go to bed early, leaving you with the budget, the kids, _and_ sad wanky time. How does that sound?"

"I'm glad you love me, because I shudder to imagine how you'd treat me if you didn't," he answered.

Laxus was careful not to interfere too much, since he knew it was probably really good for his wife and their son to spend some time together. Lucy was having a harder time than she wanted to admit with the fact that Yuri was starting to act like more and more like an adult.

Besides, that gave him time to spend with his daughters.

He wondered if Layla knew how to make a budget, but when he went to find her, she was in an ill mood over Sam Redfox's recent interest in 'the girl that dates all the guys.' He attempted to comfort her and she informed him she had both burning rage and PMS and preferred to be alone. He gave her an offering of chocolate from his emergency cache and apologies and went on.

When he went in Anna's room, he found it was already quite full. There was Iggy, Rai, Loke, and her Nicola spirit, a non-perverted little pink version of Plue. She was rarely ever alone, and it was hardest to score one-on-one time with her than any of his kids.

This left Mavis, who was in her room on her bed with a physics book, some paper, and a pencil.

"Busy with homework?"

Mavis nodded. "Of course."

"Physics? Since when do kids your age learn that?"

"I'm gifted."

Laxus sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down. "You're writing in your brother's handwriting. That's impressive in some ways and disheartening in others. My daughter is smart enough to do work for much older children and can clone someone else handwriting. It's a testament to her mental abilities, which she uses for cheating and forgery."

Mavis said, "Yuri has a project to get electricity from a potato or something. Besides, Dad, it's a proud tradition in this family for the males to be completely reliant on the much more intelligent females to complete things like paperwork and homework. Poor Yuri must have gotten his brains from you."

"There's nothing wrong with your brother. He's very smart."

Mavis said, "If I had to rank us by intelligence, it would be Mama, Layla, Me, Anna, and Yuri."

"Where am I on this list?"

"You didn't make the list. Sorry. Maybe next year. Speaking of next year, I read an article in Sorcerer's Weekly about the 1st Annual Junior Grand Magic Games."

Laxus nodded. "What about it?"

"We're going to compete!"

"We are? I thought the guildmaster decided that. Too bad the guildmaster of Fairy Tail is such a dunce or he might have mailed the entry form in on time," he teased.

Mavis said, "I want to beat up people in the name of my guild."

"Rather than doing it for no reason like always?"

He felt a lump under his back and reached behind him to find a potato with metal nails sticking out of it. There was another one on the nightstand and while Mavis ranted in excitement about the Junior GMGs, he quietly collected the supplies strewn about the bed and moved the nails, attached wire and clips and then twisted the wires together and touched Mavis with it, giving her a tiny shock.

"What?! How did you-?!" the girl asked in surprise that her father had somehow connected it all perfectly and with no directions as if he understood exactly what needed to happen and how to do it.

"Can I be on the list now? Anyway, the games are going to be teams of three."

"Do I get to go?"

Laxus said, "Fairytail Team A: Yuri, Anna, and Sam. Fairytail Team B: Layla, Mavis, and Iggy. It's for charity, so your mom and I decided to set you free and let the world see the terrible things we made."

Mavis scowled. "I want to be on Yuri's team!"

"Not a chance in hell."

"Why?"

Laxus said, "Sabertooth is going to be the primary rival and I happen to know you and Yuri have a very similar conflict of interest."

The girl bristled at the suggestion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Let me spell it out: half of my offspring have become attached to members of Sabertooth. Since Sabertooth will likely be our stiffest competition, I refuse to have you and Yuri together."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe it's time for us to put you in an old folks' home. Clearly, you have me confused for someone else!"

Laxus looked up at her blushing, angry face. "Awww, the hellbeast is turning pink. How cute. You liiiiiiike him."

"I do not! Get out of my room already!"

Her father yawned. "I'm not ready for you to have a boyfriend, but it's okay for you to like somebody. It doesn't mean you're one less badass than you've always been, you know."

Mavis sulked and looked away. "I don't like like him! But...did his mom really die?"

Laxus nodded. "He was pretty small. She was killed right in front of him. His dad is glad he finally has a crush on a girl."

The little blonde's face twisted in anger. "You talked to his HIS DAD ABOUT ME?!"

Laxus said, "I thought the kid was actually bothering you and wanted to resolve it peaceably. His father informed me you two are both little stalkers and that you'd purposefully visited him. I was livid and almost came home and grounded you, but then your mother convinced me you were just too cute and awkward to admit you wanted to see him."

"I didn't! And I don't!"

"Baby Orga likes his vicious princess."

Mavis growled. "He can drop dead!"

Laxus decided this was wonderfully amusing and proceeded to taunt her further. "Mavis and Orga, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g." He paused when he realized what he was saying, and then added, "Then I cut his lips off."

The next thing he knew, he was being smothered by a pillow, listening to his sweet baby. "It was nice knowing you, Dad, but I'm afraid this is the end."

He flipped her on her back and tickled her half to death, then got up and said, "You're cute sometimes."

"You can cut his lips off anytime you want, Dad," she sweetly replied.

"I think he might need them someday for the vicious princess, right?"

Mavis smacked him with the pillow. "You can go now."

Laxus was reasonably sure by the end of the conversation that if she came across Baby Orga in the games, she might actually be harder on him than anyone else, which was actually fairly comforting as he had to deal with the fact Yuri would never fight Lilia. Laxus wasn't even sure if his son had it in him to fight a woman at all.

That was problematic as Minerva's daughter could probably only be defeated by Yuri or Layla.

Sabertooth didn't have enough youngsters to make two teams, but they had four formidable wizards that descended from Sting, Rogue, Minerva, and Orga. Two girls, two boys. Jura Nekkis and Lyon both had offspring in the age group as well, and Laxus realized they were starting to form a whole generation of wizards just like their parents had, with bonds and relationships and rivalries.

Once Mavis was infuriated, and he knew Layla's rage bordered on nuclear, he decided to check on his last child. He was on his way to see if Anna was available when Iggy ran out of the room and left the house abruptly, leaving a crying girl in his wake.

He sighed and went into her room. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

"Right, well, you want to help me make dinner? You know if you don't it'll taste like dog food."

This was true. His cooking, while not quite as offensive as it once was, never quite made it to a point of being satisfactory.

Anna followed him down to the kitchen and continued to insist nothing was wrong while crying and stirring, crying and cutting, crying and setting the table.

"What did Iggy do? I'll kill him if you want."

Anna sniffed. "He's insensitive."

That didn't sound like Iggy at all, and while Laxus was reluctant to take the boy's side, the idea that he was inconsiderate was a little unbelievable. "How so?"

"I didn't feel well, and he just kept trying to make me laugh. I didn't feel like it. I just wanted him to be quiet."

Layla and Anna operated on the same 'schedule,' so if Layla was about to breathe fire due to hormones, Anna would be too.

Laxus asked, "Did you tell him you didn't feel well?"

"Dad, how can I tell my boyfriend I'm about to be on my period and he's bothering the crap out of me?" she asked.

Her father said, "Ah, I see. Iggy is insensitive because he can't read your mind."

"Whose side are you on?"

"Anna, men are not telepathic. We're idiots. We're bad at taking hints. We don't know anything about how girls think or feel. We need clear instructions, preferably with bullet points and examples. Sometimes women think we're being terrible when we really have no idea what's going on," he replied.

Anna considered this for a while and stopped crying, seemingly relieved that Iggy probably didn't make her feel bad on purpose. Laxus explained, she listened, and when dinner was almost ready, Iggy reappeared after a long conversation with his father.

Natsu had explained that whenever women get mad for no cognizable reason, to apologize anyway.

So Iggy said he was sorry although he had no idea what he was apologizing for (his sins were never explained to him), Anna gave him a hug, and they were back to holding hands by the time dinner was ready.

Meanwhile, Lucy and her precious baby were out on the town. Plans for dinner became movie, then dinner. Lucy was gleefully happy that he came home from his job and took his mom out with his money, proof he was still a good little mama's boy and that wasn't going to change even if he was in a more serious relationship.

She hugged on his arm as they walked from the movie theatre to the restaurant. "You're such a good son. Still have time for your old mama even if you are...you know."

"Uhhh...that doesn't really that much time from my schedule."

"But still," she put her hands flat on her belly, "I can remember when you were inside of me. The first time I felt you kick I was in the old house, and your dad was in the kitchen with me. He was bothering me to death, and I felt this fluttering movement inside. I told your dad he was even pissing the baby off."

Lucy smiled at him and noted he was starting to get a more pronounced jawline and cheeks, like his father. She could see a little bit of herself in his face, mostly around his nose. "You're growing up to be so handsome."

Yuri when they got to the restaurant and were seated, he asked, "Why does it bother you, Mom? I don't want you to be upset or uncomfortable or anything. I like my girlfriend, that's all. I hated it when we were all broken up. I was sad."

His mother wasn't entirely sure how to answer that question. It was difficult to articulate why him being in a relationship made her uncomfortable or why Laxus was perpetually irritated over their daughters and their assorted crushes.

"Well, when you're a kid, I'm the woman who feeds you, takes care of you, makes sure you're happy, listens to all your secrets, puts you to bed at night...you know. The important stuff. The older you get, the less you need me to do those things and now, there are some things that don't happen anymore. I feel like there are probably a lot of things you told Lilia that I don't know. And if something bothers you, you don't necessarily even give me a hint. It makes me sad to think you're not going to need me at all eventually," she admitted.

Yuri looked down at her. "I'll always need my mom."

Lucy wasn't convinced, but added, "Besides, you came out of my vagina and it's mildly unnerving to know you're visiting another one after all these years."

Yuri had a mouthful of water that he choked on. "Mama!"

She laughed. "Calm down, geeze. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen, by 'the kitchen' I mean-"

"Mom!"

Her son was turning red as a beet as his mother giggled a little at his discomfort.

They ordered their meals and while waiting, Lucy asked, "So, my wonderful, charming, handsome, amazing son, do you and Lilia have any kind of plans? You live in separate cities and are members of separate guilds. That's probably not going to work long-term, if there is a long-term."

Yuri sipped his water, glad his mother had moved on from discussing sex with him. It was weird enough to talk to his father about it, which was necessary as he was sure he was doing some of it wrong.

(He was.)

"Well, for right now, it's going to be like that. She wants to be with her dad, but also, I think he really needs to be with her."

"Does Sting know you guys are having sex?"

Yuri nodded. "He talked to me about it."

"He talked to you?"

"For a long time. He wasn't as angry as I expected him to be, but he hit me harder than I expected him to. I couldn't breathe for a minute and I think he enjoyed watching me gasp for air because as soon as I was okay he did it again. It went on for a while like that," her son answered.

Lucy and Laxus had decided as a united parental unit not to feel sorry for their son if he got into trouble with Sting over the incident. Lucy was sure Laxus would probably do a lot worse to a boy if he snuck into their house and did what Yuri had done at Sting's home.

Sting really liked Yuri though, and had since the kids were younger because Yuri made Lilia happy. Because of him, she'd spent much of her childhood around other kids with dragon blood and around a loving family. Without him, Lilia would have been lonely and raised by a mother who made her feel ashamed of her dragon side. Sting was grateful for the boy for the role he played in making sure her childhood was as okay as it was. They had generally peaceful but awkward relations.

Lucy poked at the issue of the future again. "And in a few years?"

Yuri asked, "In a few years what?"

Lucy kicked him under the table. "I carried you in my body for ten months. You can tell me your plans. That will probably take much less than ten months."

He grinned at her frustration. "Well...ummmm..."

Her stare was intense, and unflinching.

"I think our food is here," he said.

"It's not."

Yuri fidgeted.

And fidgeted some more.

Finally, he said, "When we get older, we want to get married."

Lucy wasn't sure why this answer was so shocking, or why he felt so uncomfortable admitting it. Discussing the future was probably something every young and mostly naive couple did after sex, so Lucy suspected some plans existed in some form or another. They were teenagers, so they were obviously looking forward to having wonderful, exciting lives.

"Married. Like, how much older?"

"Five years. You were twenty when you got married, right?"

"But…"

Yuri said, "We might move in together a year before that or something. She'll join Fairy Tail. The other option was for me to move there and join Sabertooth, and that's really out of the question for me. I told her that if we want to be together, she has to come back eventually."

"Damn right it is. You've had a Fairy Tail mark since you were eighteen months old. Your father and I would probably kill you before we let you walk around with another guild's mark on you. I guess that sucks for Sting though," she replied.

Parents aside, Lucy knew the kids had to find their own way in life, together or separately. The future suddenly seemed too close, with her precious baby boy looking forward to being a man in his own right and in his own household.

"Are you going to have a little family of your own someday?"

Yuri seemed a little more embarrassed by this question than the others. "Eventually I guess. Like, a long, long time from now. Like ten years."

"That's not as long as you think it is, Yuri."

Yuri, as it turned out, was full of plans: to finish school, to become s-class, to have adventures, to go on lots of interesting jobs, and to be with his girlfriend someday. Lucy could see him achieving all of those goals eventually, and they were good goals to have. She was both proud of him for having such pure and wholesome dreams and alarmed that suddenly she realized she might only have him at home for four or five more years.

It was a little eye-opening to the son too, because he knew his mother had spent so much of herself raising him and he'd eventually move out and take care of himself. She looked like she was about to break down crying over the idea.

"Don't worry, Mom. We'll do stuff. We could go to lunch once a week from now on. My treat."

They had a delicious meal, and chattered about life, about relationships, about the games, about whether or not he could beat up a girl if he had to (even Yuri seemed unsure of whether or not he'd do it), about their family, and so forth.

Lucy felt like they'd made monumental progress in their relationship, now at a point where she regarded him less as her kid and more as a young adult.

After dinner, he took her to a carnival that was blowing through town and they played games together. Shooting games, throwing games, darts, and Lucy beat her son at all of the above and won herself a big teddy bear which she gave to her son as a token of thanks.

When they got home, she gave him a big hug and then pinched his cheek. "I'm so proud of my little man!"

"Ugh, Mom."

"That's my baby boy!"

Laxus was finishing up dinner dishes when he looked up and said, "Oh look, mother and son have returned. Have you discussed weaning yet?"

"You're childish."

"You're childish!"

Yuri escaped when his parents started playfully bickering and went upstairs to get ready for bed, leaving his parents downstairs.

Lucy sat on the counter and gave Laxus a play by play breakdown of her date with her son.

Laxus was very glad she'd become more comfortable with the fact that he was growing up and was looking at him in a more mature light.

"So, I wanted to ask you a question when I came home earlier," he said.

"Oh? You didn't just want sex?"

"That too, but, I was wondering if you are still thinking about wanting a baby," he said.

This subject had come up a dozen times over the past month, starting with the evening Lucy had become drunk. They'd discussed the pros and cons, and all the scenarios that went along with having another kid.

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really want to be pregnant. Another kid would be nice. Are you thinking about it?"

Laxus retrieved an envelope from his coat hanging by the door and gave it to Lucy as he sat up on the counter with her. It contained a letter and a photograph of a little baby.

"Aww, look at that chubby little face. Whose kid is this?"

"That's a newborn currently in the custody of the Magic Council. They found him in the freezing cold left to die, and have no idea where he came from. He has a fuck ton of latent magic power, so they're not going to just put him in the system because he'd end up in the wrong hands, one way or another. They don't really know what to do with him."

Lucy looked down at the picture. "Poor little guy. They contacted us?"

Laxus said, "Saint Wizard Natsu apparently knew you wanted a kid and suggested they send a request to the guildmaster of Fairy Tail to see if we might be able to take the kid."

"Are you still upset he is a wizard saint and you are not? It's been like ten years!"

"I still don't understand how that happened."

His wife rolled her eyes. "The last thing anything exciting happened in the magic world, he killed Dark Lord Zeref. You beat up a robot. Wall-E or whatever."

"Wall Ehto."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Same difference."

Her husband narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to ignore that slight because I'm a nice guy, but that's very insulting. Also - Natsu killing Zeref wasn't an act of heroism, it was a family dispute. And second, he's literally _a demon_. The Demon Saint. Who knows we've been talking about having another kid, because my wife has boundary issues."

"Natsu is my best friend."

"And I'm what?"

"I dunno, some guy I married when I was young and didn't know very much. But look, my son has plans to get married and have his own babies and be a normal adult, and I can't cope with an empty nest. I must fill it again by any means necessary besides actually getting pregnant and giving birth," she replied.

Laxus' brows rose. "You don't want to get pregnant?"

"My heart says yes but my belly and vagina say no. But look at this little guy! He's adorable! You'd be okay with it?"

Her husband nodded once. "I wouldn't have mentioned it to you if I wasn't. The Magic Council doesn't really want to raise him in a facility, which is sort of the alternative. They believe we would be fairly uniquely qualified to look after him."

Lucy's eyes were glued to the picture. "He's pretty cute. It makes me sad that someone would just leave him, or that he's somewhere right now and he doesn't have a mom to hold him or a dad either. He needs parents and we're parents, right? He'd have a brother and some crazy sisters too. Geeze, it would be weird being baby brother to all those girls. He's a ready-made baby and we're a ready-made family."

It didn't seem hard or confusing anymore, the 'should we or shouldn't we' they'd been going back and forth seemingly ended. There were no more lingering questions about pregnancy after Lucy's complicated pregnancy with the twins or how to undo Laxus' vasectomy. The truth was that they didn't want to go through all that again anyway, so this felt like the best, most perfectly-timed opportunity. There was just a little baby with no parents, and they were parents with no baby.

"We can go visit him?" she asked.

He nodded. "So, we're having another baby?"

Lucy all but squealed and dragged him upstairs by the hand. "Maybe! I promised I'd take care of you earlier, right?"

"Women are such nonsensical creatures."

"Hush, or it'll be sad wanky time for you!"

 _ **Please Review!**_

 _ **Special thanks to yumeyumi1986, xxShyxx, Guest, ArouraLeona, LucyXHeartfiliaXFan, LilithRisen, Twiztidprincess, Toreh, boyceashlee, guest, saskiarosee, mewhee89, pandorababe, justloverly, 17, lunastarlady, yed01, katiekat2001, thornado, amarantha, olympe, FairyTailBookworm, bwolloves, thealicehuntt, flameyowl, and megumiyoung for reviewing!**_


	48. The Fifth

They'd forgotten:

About little tiny baby sounds, and little tiny baby socks, and of course—the equally tiny baby feet that went inside of them. And, they'd forgotten what it was like to fall helplessly in love with another person for no other reason than their tiny, adorable cries.

They didn't know what to expect, meeting the baby for the first time and truthfully, they were both still in doubt about whether or not it was the best thing for their admittedly colorful family. On the way there, they talked—well, she talked, and he lay nauseated in his lap listening to her as they rode the train.

He didn't have a name; his birth certificate wasn't filed. No one knew where he came from, but they knew he belonged with them when they first saw him.

He was screaming his little head off to a young nurse who was frazzled, exasperated, and a little stressed by her noisy patient as he chose crying over eating.

"May I? You look like you need a little break," Lucy asked.

The nurse, who had been briefed about their visit, agreed quickly and gently, the well-seasoned mother of four took the newborn in her arms and cradled him with practiced ease. The nurse left them when the newborn ceased his crying and took the bottle.

Lucy sat down in a chair with him and for a long time, she was completely silent.

Her husband leaned against the wall and watched with a well-worn expression of love. As clichéd and as silly as it felt, especially after so many years and a few babies, she never failed to astound and challenge him at every turn. There was nothing he adored more than Mama Lucy, a powerful but gentle wonder.

He watched her eyes become glossy with tears and gave her a gentle smile.

The baby couldn't have been more adorable in their eyes. He was a chubby but handsome baby boy, who looked nothing like them yet carved a place for himself in their hearts with his reluctant suckling.

She finally looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "This is our son, Laxus. I'm sure of it."

"He's a cute little guy," he said, bending down to kiss her cheek. "What are we going to name this fussy rascal?"

Lucy smiled. "I know what his name is supposed to be."

"Oh?"

"Lex Dreyar."

"That sounds a little familiar," he commented, seeming a bit awkward at the suggestion they name the baby close to his name.

"Do you mind?" she asked, "I was thinking last night that if we adopt him, there are probably going to be moments where maybe he doesn't feel like he's part of the family. If we give him that name, his name will be like yours. He'll be like his daddy. That's important to a little boy. Remember? Yuri used to want to do everything like Daddy. Well, he didn't really outgrow that phase at all, to be honest."

"Yuri is still just like he was when he was a little kid. Loves Cheerios and Mama. I feel like it was yesterday that he was that tiny, but then I turn around and he's almost as big as I am," Laxus answered.

Lucy smiled at her fussy baby boy. "We'll get to watch you grow up too, Lex. I know you've had a rough start, but it's going to be easier from now on. You're going to grow and soon you'll be walking and talking. You're going to grow up tall and strong and wonderful. Everything is going to be okay."

When he finished eating, Lucy asked, "Are you still the world's greatest baby burper?"

"Let's see."

Laxus gently took Lex from his mother, who opened cabinets in the hospital room until she found a cloth to put over his shoulder.

The baby started crying again, to which his father replied, "Another Mama's boy…"

"How's your mom anyway? We haven't heard from her since before your dad died," Lucy asked.

Laxus shrugged. "Damned if I know. I don't really care. Giving birth isn't really motherhood. I mean, this baby has a woman somewhere who had him and she left. Being a parent is a lot bigger than that."

She realized she'd hit a sore spot, however inadvertently, and stood to hug him while he was burping the baby, who surrendered his spit-up and eventually rested against his new father's shoulder contentedly.

When he finally looked down at her, he said, "You're going to make me talk about my feelings now, aren't you?"

"I'm glad you at least know how this is going to go."

He sat down in one of the two chairs, still holding the baby, and she sat next to him.

His willingness to adopt a baby had puzzled Lucy at first, because he was particular. He loved all babies, but his passion for their little family was fervent and so loyal. It surprised her that he'd be willing to consider adopting a baby with someone else's blood flowing through his veins.

"My parents decided they didn't want me too. It's a big thing we have in common. The difference is that I didn't get to be adopted by a family. I ended up with my alcoholic, aging grandfather. I'm not saying anything about Gramps…I know he did the best he could. But I didn't have a family until you came along. No one should have to grow up feeling like that," he said.

He saw her eyes become progressively moister and rolled his. "Good God, woman, don't cry. It doesn't matter. I'm a middle-aged man."

"But you're _my_ middle-aged man, and you're so damn sweet I can't stand it."

"Eh?"

"You want to help Lex because you have compassion for him."

He decided to let her have her moment, because she was always a weepy mess about a new baby. He now knew this wasn't due entirely to pregnancy hormones since she didn't have any as she sat there with tears dripping down her cheeks at the beauty of a man who had been left at birth wanting to take in a little baby boy in the same position.

Pretending to tune her out after a while, he whispered to Lex, "That's your mother. She's really emotional. No, you'll never understand. But you're a lucky little guy to have her as a mom. You also have a bunch of crazy sisters and a brother."

The baby abruptly spit up a little more on his shirt, which was unprotected as he'd already removed the burp cloth.

"Thanks, son. I appreciate that."

After a while, they unswaddled him and put him in his little bed, and then sat on opposite sides examining him. His eyes were blue, which was to be expected. There was no knowing whether they'd change later on, but his skin was slightly darker than theirs and his hair was dark brown and very thick.

Lucy kissed his feet and counted his little fingers and toes, and then he fell asleep squeezing his father's finger.

They stayed all day with the baby, snuggling him and each other in between feedings and fussings.

Magic Council Chairman Jura Nekkis came by that evening and entered quietly with a folder filled with paperwork. Laxus was cradling the baby when he walked in, and this amused Jura greatly, because he could remember their first meeting.

"I've heard he's a handful," Jura said as Laxus put Lex back in the bed.

Lucy was unfazed. "We've had twins. This is nothing. So what's the process?"

Jura handed Laxus the folder, and he immediately passed it on to Lucy, who dug through her purse for her wind-reading glasses. Everyone who knew anything knew Lucy was an exceptionally brilliant individual and that her husband respected her in that role.

"So, here's the thing," she said, "I want to take him home. Like _now_. I just don't have it in me to meet this precious baby boy, and realize he's my son, and leave him for the sake of slowed bureaucracy. I'll play _all_ the cards in my deck if I have to, including 'best friends with Queen Hisui.' You don't want that, do you?"

Laxus didn't disagree with this. The idea that they might have to leave little Lex in the facility until paperwork could be sorted out was far from ideal to the point of being unsettling. But he also knew Lucy would fight like a crazed mama bear for her babies.

Jura had known them both for many years, and had just as much in his file about _her_ as _him_. He was an extraordinary leader, but she was an extremely critical figure in the magic world because she was not only powerful, but extraordinarily well-connected.

"I figured the fiercest mama in Fiore would feel that way. A judge can sign a provisional agreement tomorrow so you can look after the baby until everything is final. Do you have a name for him?"

"Lex," Lucy answered.

"Lex Dreyar? That just sounds…strangely menacing," the older wizard answered.

While Lucy was looking over the papers and signing both her name and her husbands' as necessary, Jura said, "Your guild's kids are in the junior games? I'm curious to see if our sons cross each other."

Laxus flashed a slightly menacing grin. "Oh? Won't be the first time a bloated Nekkis male has to eat lightning."

"I've heard Yuri is impressive. My son Petri is a quite a strong young man."

Lucy looked up over the top of her reading glasses and said, "Hey guys, why don't you just whip 'em out and we'll see whose is bigger? In fact, I have a ruler in my purse. A really little one, but I think it'll suffice."

She dug in her purse and, as promised, produced a tiny little ruler. "Who's first?"

Both men just stared in horror at the woman, who had the nerve to imply the chairman of the Magic Council and the leader of the strongest guild clearly had small penises and offered to measure them, if necessary, in order to end what she felt was nonsense chatter about their boys.

Jura chuckled, "Ah, the uncanny charms of the woman who tamed Laxus Dreyar."

XXX

The Dreyar kids didn't know that their parents were off visiting their new brother. In fact, they didn't know about him at all and assumed they'd just gone off for a weekend alone as they'd started to do now and then lately.

It was pouring down rain, and thundering terribly. This meant two of the Dreyars were out trying to eat the lightning and the other two were inside trying to stay away from it.

Layla and Anna were as close as sisters could be, and used the downtime as an opportunity to have girl talk. They read magazines, talked about boys, read magic books, and then got the most recent issue of Sorcerer Weekly Teen and talked about their competitors.

They were sitting next to each other on the floor by the coffee table, drinking coffee with too much cream and sugar.

Layla got a marker and started to write numbers on the article listing some of the more prominent male teen wizards, which confused her little sister.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just ranking these guys. I've decided to find a new guy to like," she announced.

Anna asked, "What about Sam?"

"I will never forgive him."

"For what?"

"He was supposed to be my first kiss and I was supposed to be his. But instead, he kissed that stupid girl. He's dead to me," she explained to her younger sister, who found none of these dramatics to be particularly noteworthy.

Sam and Layla were a soap opera unto themselves Monday-Sunday, although Sam had possibly escalated it beyond the point at which Layla would continue to bother with him. At the moment, she seemed done, but Anna knew it might be ten minutes and she'd be madly in love with the temperamental Redfox boy.

Layla added, "Anyway, I'm practically the princess of the magic. I'm cute. I'm powerful. I'm smart, and I can date the most handsome guy on this list. Whoever is the most handsome guy on this list is going to be my boyfriend."

She turned the page and found her brother's picture.

"Eww. Gross." Layla put a huge 'X' over his face. "We'll forget I said that."

Anna looked up to make sure Rai the baby Exceed was still sleeping peacefully and replied, "Maybe you should just find someone you get along with. Does it have to be someone powerful?"

Layla answered, "Look, I know you're the nice one. Yuri is the boring one, I'm the bitchy one, you're the sweet one, and Mavis is the wicked one. But, we're basically the result of two powerful magic lines crossing. It would be a sad waste for us to find ordinary boyfriends, and eventually cross-breed with them. It would be like taking fine wine and pouring water into it."

"We don't even know what wine tastes like. Would you know if it was watery? Besides, wine is basically just rotten juice, so…you want a boyfriend who is as rottenly juicy as you?" Anna replied.

Her older sister narrowed her eyes. "Whose side are you on?"

"There are no sides. You're just talking crazy again."

"How so?"

Anna said, "Suddenly we're breeding? That's a big jump from being a fourteen-year-old with no boyfriend."

"Please don't rub it in my face. You're supposed to love me. Besides, your boyfriend is the son of the Dragneel-Strauss union, so you can't say anything to me about wanting to date someone powerful."

Layla held up the magazine and said, "The Lamia Scale boys are cute. How about Sergei Bastia? His name is so exotic. Then we'd both be dating guys with white hair. I wonder if he's tall. But, eww, what if he's cold like Gray is? That's going to suck when we kiss. I mean, I assume even making out would be like tongue-kissing a slimy cold octopus tentacle."

Anna sighed. "So you're looking through a magazine and determining which one of them is going to be the best boyfriend. And which ones aren't going to be fun to kiss. I think you're getting _really_ far ahead of yourself."

"I think you have a boyfriend, so be quiet."

Layla held up a picture. "How about this guy? Petri Nekkis. I feel like that would really piss Dad off."

"Is that considered a pro or a con?"

"Anna, my student, my friend, my sister…anytime you can annoy our parents, do it. It's our right as their children to cause them grief," she replied, "Ohh! This one is so dreamy. I mean, the son of Hibiki and Jenny Lates…but everyone from Blue Pegasus is so weird."

Anna said, "But Dad was in Blue Pegasus."

"Repeat: Everyone from Blue Pegasus is so weird."

They giggled, and the door flew open with the entry of their over-electrified, dragon-blooded siblings. Yuri occasionally liked to shock his sisters when he had a little extra static, but as he came closer to the others, Layla gave him an expression that very clearly said, "If you get my hair wet, I will kill you."

She was already drawing X's all over his face on the magazine, so he just decided to leave her be.

Yuri and Mavis dried off and the kids made and ate pizzas.

Their parents cited 'needing a weekend away from their kids,' but they'd now been gone four days. They weren't used to being left unattended for so long, although assorted adults came by to make sure they hadn't destroyed the house and weren't having parties.

One of those people was Gildarts, who had come by to 'check' on them while hungover and spent half of his day being tended to by Anna and Rai the Exceed.

Sam came by once the rain stopped, and Layla gave him a death glare after he entered the house.

The rest of the Dreyar siblings scattered with their pizza and fear.

The raven-haired teenager found his lifelong blonde friend was ignoring him, giving him the silent treatment, and wishing death upon him all at once.

"Hey. You still mad?"

"I don't care about you so no. Kiss her. Kiss everybody. I've decided you're not worth my time, effort, or emotions, so you stand there all day and have a nice life. I'm trying to decide who my first boyfriend will be, as the first candidate turned out to be a sorry, lousy, worthless waste of my time," Layla asked.

Sam sat down next to her. "C'mon, don't be like that. I said I was sorry."

Layla held up the magazine. "What do you think? I think I'd look really cute with—"

He took the magazine from her hands and ripped it in half.

She shrugged. "That's fine. They're cheap and easy to replace, kind of like you."

The boy flopped down on the couch. "I'm sorry, okay? You're the only girl for me."

"Well, then, you are going to live a sad life and die alone," she angrily replied.

It was harder for him than they new, and he didn't expect Layla to understand. She was possibly the strongest member of their entire generation. In fact, she was so powerful, almost no one had ever seen her actually use her magic outside of the guild. She was beautiful, smart, powerful, and any of those boys in her magazine would probably jump at the chance.

Sam came from a very different place in life.

He wasn't a pretty boy. His dad wasn't the guildmaster or a saint wizard. In fact, if the wizards in the guild were ranked, Gajeel ranked behind, Laxus, Natsu, Erza…a ranking in Sorcerer Weekly even put him behind Wendy.

Growing up in close proximity to the Dreyars was difficult. For the longest time, he'd at least been able to win fights against Iggy, but since Iggy found his groove, that had suddenly become difficult to the point of being almost impossible.

Layla's affections were, for the most part, _humiliating_. She was too pretty, too smart, too powerful for someone like him.

He waited, and she continued to ignore him.

Sam really didn't know why he'd kissed the other girl, or even spent time with her at all. He felt like maybe someone a little lower in the social hierarchy would make him feel better, but it hadn't. It only made him miss his friend, whose feelings he'd hurt so badly she had shifted her focus to other boys after a lifetime of always being at his side.

He was insecure in a social order where everyone else seemed to be a little more well-adjusted. While everyone else was enjoying themselves, he worried he couldn't escape being the second-rate son of a wizard that had never even come close to the top at Fairy Tail.

So he was weaker than he wanted to be, and had successfully enraged a girl he believed was too good for him anyway.

Sam left, feeling a little despondent, left the house and went for a walk down a random path that put him on a collision course with a future he never imagined—one that would eventually separate him from everything he knew.

"Redfox?" a voice called.

"Yeah? Who wants to know?"

XXX

Meanwhile at the Dreyar house, they were cleaning up after dinner when the key turned in the front door and their parents returned.

Well, their father had returned, carrying their sleepy mother piggyback with a bunch of bags on one arm and tightly swaddled baby in the other. The baby had screamed the entire ride home, which Lucy cited as a mutual hate of transportation baby and father shared.

By the time they got home, Lucy and the baby were equally exhausted, leaving Laxus to carry all the bags and the people.

He was pleased all the kids were at home and together, which was exceedingly rare during a time in their lives when they were starting to operate more and more independently.

He dropped the bags on the floor, and Lucy slid off of his back so they could face their four older children, who were glaring at them with various expressions: confusion (Yuri), curiosity (Layla), glee (Anna), and agitation (Mavis).

(As the baby of the family, Mavis despised any sign of her parents showing affection to other children, but would never admit this.)

Lucy took Lex and said, "So, we need to have a quick little family meeting. Your father and I have a really big announcement."

They sat in a little row on the sofa in birth order, although it was unclear whether this had been intentional.

"I'll get a bottle ready and leave you with this," Laxus said.

Lucy mouthed the word 'chicken' at him, which he replied with a quick smirk and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

The kids watched their mother with intensity as she crossed the room and sat down on the coffee table right in front of them, cradling the three-week-old baby boy. It was a tender moment, but it was also a moment that was funny as hell to her because they all seemed apprehensive and very serious.

"Kids, your dad and I have been talking about adding to our family lately, and we decided that we'd like to have another baby. This little guy needed a family, and we wanted a baby, so it seemed like a wonderful fit. Your dad and I are in the process of adopting this precious little baby boy. His name is Lex," she said.

Layla leaned forward and peeked into the bundle. "We have a new baby brother? That's actually pretty cool, Mom."

Anna stretched out her arms. "Can we hold him?"

Lucy nodded. "Of course. Keep in mind he's so little he can't hold his head up yet, so you have to support him like this."

She carefully transferred the sleeping baby to Anna's arms, and the two cooed over him.

Layla unwrapped him and played with his hands and feet. "What a cute little chubby baby. Where did he come from?"

"No one really knows. He was abandoned and he ended up with the Magic Council because he has a lot of latent magic power. They didn't want him to end up in the wrong hands, so they reached out to us because they think we're good parents for magically-gifted babies. The chairman said he heard all of you were wonderful, morally upright young wizards," she said.

Anna asked, "Does he know about Mavis?"

"Apparently not," Layla giggled.

Mavis glared, at them and then the baby, then at their mother.

Yuri seemed a little bewildered, but it was primarily because when his mother had been drunk, she'd told him if he was so intent on growing up, she'd go out and get another son. It was a little frightening to see his mother had acted on her wild, drunken whims. At least, that was how he perceived the situation, although he had no real issue with the baby.

Laxus returned from the kitchen with a warm bottle, and Lucy took back the baby and started feeding him.

"Can we feed him too?" Anna asked.

"This is something a mommy does," Lucy insisted.

And then, she leaned down and said, "Isn't that right, my sweet Lex? Mama feeds all her newborn babies. Sorry about the bottle, Mama's boobies are all dried up, thanks to your greedy brothers and sisters. They sucked Mama dry."

This comment caused everyone else in the room to cringe.

Mavis finally spoke and said, "He's cute I guess. But, you've done this, and now I'm not the baby. I'm the un-baby. Do you even know what that means? I've become an insignificant middle child!"

Anna and Layla returned a glare to her.

Yuri crossed his arms and said, "Mom?"

"Yes, my sweet Thunder Baby?"

"I'm happy for you and Dad," he said, having come to the realization that if his mother had a new baby, maybe she'd smother him slightly less. And besides, Lex _was_ cute.

Laxus next to his wife and they smiled as they watched their older children get acquainted with the newest addition to the family. All fronts aside, all four of them took it well and were in a state of wonder over the newborn baby boy's irresistibly chubby adorableness.

It was an interesting contrast to them, as they could remember when their first baby was so tiny. Yuri was now taller than most grown men and well on his way to becoming Dad-sized.

Lucy added, "We know that you guys are good kids, but you're a really tight-knit group of brats too. Please make sure you treat your little brother just like he's blood. Even if he didn't come from us, he's ours, right?"

"Mom, we like to pretend we didn't come out of you because it's kind of gross, so that's easy," Layla replied.

"Kind of gross?" Lucy asked, "Says one who lived inside of one of my organs for nine months and then came out of my—"

"MOM!"

The room became silent other than the sound of the baby suckling the bottle and a little rumble of laughter from Laxus, who found Lucy far, far more entertaining as the years went by. The more years that went by, the more she just said whatever was on her mind. As their older kids had reached various levels of self-sufficiency, he'd noticed her drink a little more wine, speak her mind a little more often, and at times, utter the most awkward but true things.

He believed that his wife would eventually evolve into the kind of old woman who was aggressive and said whatever entered her mind regardless of how it made anyone else feel. This side of her was endlessly entertaining to him.

Lucy shrugged. "That's fine. You'll have babies eventually, and then I'm going to bring all these things back to your remembrance."

Laxus finally spoke, saying, "It wasn't really our intention to bring him home immediately, but it wouldn't have been right to just leave him in the hospital. So, we obviously don't have everything we need for a baby. We decided to outsource this to you guys, so do your brother right and make him a nice little nursery. _Layla_ will be in charge of this project."

"Am I not the oldest anymore?" Yuri asked, pointing at himself.

Laxus gave his daughter an envelope with money in it and said, "It's not personal. This project requires budgeting and decoration, and you're colorblind and not particularly good at math."

"I'm sorry. I was dropped on my head as a baby," he argued.

Layla said, "Excuses. I'm thinking a nice green and brown motif would suit Lex, since he has such pretty dark hair. What do you think, Yuri? Oh, you don't know what green is. My bad."

Their mother replied, "Don't give him too much grief. Even if he could see colors, he'd probably still not know what to do with them. Men don't have the best sense when it comes to what goes with what. Your dad used to wear a lot of animal print and faux fur."

Laxus felt all of his daughters stare at him in disbelief.

"Did you also have a mullet?" Layla asked.

Lucy said, "No, but he did have this awful haircut that was all shaved on the sides, and standing up on top."

Laxus sulked about this mocking reference to what he felt where the 'good old days,' which were the days before Lucy, when he could wear tight leopard print pants and she wouldn't would peel them off and burn them. After the burning was the ceremonial wagging of fingers and explanations about why he shouldn't wear such things.

After feeding, Laxus sent his wife upstairs to get ready for bed and gave his children a detailed lesson on how to burp the baby, then change the baby, although they'd taken care of Crash so diapers were a thing they'd all had to face in the past.

The girls carried the baby upstairs and after he finished locking up and making sure everything was set for bedtime, he passed Layla's room and found all three girls laying on the bed with the baby, giggling and cooing over him, even the impenetrable Mavis.

Yuri was sitting on the edge of the big bed teasing the baby's feet, a habit he either inherited from his father or remembered from when he was little.

Laxus stood in the doorway for a while before they noticed him, grinning softly at the kids.

And then he heard Mavis said, "Lex, I'll teach you everything I know."

"God help us," Laxus whispered to himself.

His dragon-blooded babies overheard this and looked up, alerting the other two to his presence as well.

"We're having a sibling meeting right now, you can come back later," Anna said, practically shutting the door in his face.

To which he shrugged and went on to the master bedroom. He took a shower, got ready for bed, and found his wife already face-down and snoring. The train ride had been all but traumatic as she'd had two whiny babies on her hands during the trip. He knew Daddy and Baby were probably a bit much, so he left her asleep and unpacked their bags.

They didn't have a lot for the baby yet, just diapers, wipes, a couple of outfits, and the other necessities. The rest of what they needed was written on a list for the older kids, and he was grateful for them because he knew they'd be very helpful. As busy as they were with the guild, they simply didn't have the time to be on baby duty constantly.

Even having time to get ready for bed without a cranky baby was appreciated.

When he went to get Lex from his sisters and brother, they tried to bargain for more time, but they had school, and he wanted to have some time with the baby.

Lex seemed just fine and happy being the center of attention, and only cried when his father picked him up.

"Goodnight, kids. Get some sleep."

He brought Lex upstairs and put him to bed in their bed right between he and Lucy, then snuggled him until he drifted off to sleep.

A hour later, a cry awoke him and he opened his eyes to find Lucy reaching for their newborn son in the dark. After being soothed, Lex allowed them to sleep for approximately half an hour before registering further complaints and they realized that he was going to be a handful.

After their second round, Laxus turned on the light. "Looks like he's going to pull an all-nighter."

Lucy yawned and tiredly looked at her son. "I'll take him for a few hours, and then we'll trade and I'll sleep in. My boss won't mind if I'm late for work. Deal?"

"Deal."

She slid out of the bed and spent much of the night downstairs with her son. He was what she referred to as a high-maintenance baby, demanding attention, food, snuggles all in fairly quick turn. They finally fell asleep for a little while in the living room, only to be disturbed by a kiss to the forehead at dawn.

Her husband took the baby, and kissed her again on the lips.

"I have morning breath," she groaned.

He brought a hand to her cheek and gave her another kiss, this time slipping his tongue passed her lips, only to be met with a wall of teeth. "…what?"

"Stop being gross."

"I don't give a damn about your morning breath. Now go upstairs and get to sleep in our bed. Don't worry about coming to the guild. I'll take Lex with me and let Mirajane snuggle him to death. You can come get him when you're fully rested."

He kissed her again, which she responded to by putting her hand on his face and pushing him away.

His wife tiredly stood and stretched. "I figured you out, you know. You know what kind of bad feelings Lex would have if he had to grow up without a family, so you were eager to bring him into ours. It's actually really beautiful when I think about it."

Laxus rested the baby against his shoulder. "The lady who won't let me tongue kiss her until she brushes her teeth wants to tell me my faults are attractive. You are a hypocrite, Lucy."

"You're always so deep when you first wake up. I feel like your cognitive abilities diminish throughout the day until you sleep again."

"Every part of me is brisk in the morning."

"Shut up, Honey."

Lucy went up to bed, and Laxus sat down with their little son.

Yuri was the first one up, as always. He'd been active at the crack of dawn since he was a toddler, so when Laxus heard a creak on the stairs, he already knew it would be his oldest. "'Morning, Dad."

"Hey."

Yuri gave Lex a little pat on the head. "Hey, Lex. I heard you making a lot of noise last night."

His father said, "You were a lot worse, you know. For the first three months, you had your mother and I literally delirious from exhaustion. We didn't really know what we were doing back then. You're the practice baby, so by the time we got you big enough, we kind of knew how to handle a baby."

"And how not to drop them on their heads? Anyway, are you hungry, Dad?"

Watching how considerate and loyal their older children were constantly reminded the parents that they'd raised some great kids. Yuri and Layla would pick up slack wherever was necessary to make sure their family was taken care of, whether that meant laundry or cooking or a little cleaning or keeping their little sisters in line.

Laxus fed the baby while Yuri cooked bacon and eggs, and noticed him look at curiously at the baby every few seconds.

"You know, when you were little, you informed your mother and I that we weren't permitted to have any other male offspring. You were excited to be a big brother in a big family, just as long as there weren't any other boys."

Yuri could remember holding these sentiments, which had lasted until fairly recently. "I think it would be good for Mom to have another son to, you know…smother. Besides, it's nice to be part of a big family. And, look, we used to be outnumbered four to two, it's four to three now."

"Oh? That's right. Team Testosterone is making a comeback. But look, Lex," he looked down at the baby, "You live in a house with four crazy women. Just keep your head down and stick with us and you'll be all right."

"Are you guys going to have any more kids?"

Laxus shook his head. "No, this is definitely the last one for us. The next kid born into this family will probably be your first baby."

"Mine?" he asked as he pointed at himself in confusion.

"Yes, you. Once you and Lilia grow up and get a little more serious, I'm sure you'll settle down. You're not really the wild type—I don't think you've got any partying in you. I think you're better off that way. I did a lot of crazy shit for years, and for the life of me, I don't remember why. There were all these women before you mom, and a lot of hangovers. I guess that's just how I occupied myself until your mom came along. Family is what really matters. You'll mature a lot over the next few years and settle in and, if you're my son, probably want to start making babies," he said.

"I don't know about that, Dad. That's a bit much. Lilia has never really been part of a normal family so she plans it all out and it's a little scary and a little not, I guess. You and Mom are the happiest people either of us know, so in some ways, we want to have what you guys have someday. I could do with less than five kids. That's a lot of kids."

Laxus found his oldest was transitioning into adulthood in a slightly awkward but sweet way. One of his greatest fears in raising a son was that he'd go through a difficult phase, but he'd stayed kind and his father was proud of him for that.

He and Lucy had some differing opinions on their son's desire to make serious life plans. Lucy felt like he needed to be strong as a single person and enjoy life, but Laxus suspected Yuri wouldn't enjoy being single and on his own. He also suspected Lucy underestimated the bond that existed between two people who are sexually involved, but it was hard to make a mother see her son as a young adult and not as the adorable little boy.

The girls trudged downstairs in a sleepy daze for breakfast and found themselves energized at the sight of their baby brother. They took him from their father and passed him about, offering cuddles and coos.

Once he got them all off to school, he said to Lex, "You have a lot of women in your life that are going to spoil you to death. Your life is going to be interesting, but great. We're going to go to work now and let Auntie Mira squeeze you for a bit. Then Mama will be by to get you."

As father to twins, he'd learned the secret art of holding a baby and doing nearly anything, so he picked up a bit and packed the diaper bag.

The baby made a little whine, which he replied to with, "She's my favorite too."

 _ **Please Review!**_

Special thanks to lalulovernerd, guest, jenheartAl, theoginger, pandorababe, LucyXHeartfiliaXFan, lilithrisen, thealicehuntt, boyceashlee, arouraleona, yed01, 17, lunastarlady, mewhee89, thornado, katiekat2001, kurahieiritr JIO, bukkakegirl, jhdavis1103, megumiyoung, b2utifulshawol, sassykitten1701, yumeyumi1986, and xxshyxx for reviewing!

AN: Sorry for the delay in updates. I've been working two jobs. Sounds fun, right? ::sadface


	49. The Tide

It was small – barely larger than a marble. It was iridescent, and it glowed; magic emanated from the orb into Sam Redfox's hand.

He was in the woods with a person who was strange to him but would have been recognized in an instant by several of the adults in the guild. He was an enemy, but even Sam knew he probably didn't have good intentions.

"It'll make you more powerful than anyone you know," the stranger said.

He introduced himself, and Sam followed suit.

Sam rolled it around in his palm, and knew this was true. There was a terrifying amount of power in it, and if he could somehow wield it, well…he wouldn't have to feel like he was second-rate anymore.

He didn't know they'd all been studied and he was selected.

Bluenote Singer said, "Several ordinary people have attempted to use it. We believe it may only be usable by someone who is dragon born. It's a short list. Most of those people are children in Fairy Tail, but there are a few others scattered. If you're not interested, the Cheney boy will be."

He failed to mention the human mages that tried to fuse themselves with the lacrima were all deceased. Sam's wellbeing was a non-concern for him. If he died, Bluenote planned on collecting the lacrima and moving on. If he lived, the confluence of events would likely end up Sam on the wrong side of his guild.

"You want something? For this," Sam said.

Bluenote said, "I've heard that in Makarov's final years, he transferred a great deal of information to one of his great-granddaughters. There's a certain spell I want. Fairy Glitter."

"A-Are you asking me to steal Layla's notebook?"

And _that_ —that was the mistake. He was still just a young teenager and he didn't know the full impact of these words, but he knew he'd messed up. With one sentence, he'd disclosed it had been written down, that he knew where it was, and that Layla was the one in possession of it.

"Layla Dreyar…the oldest…has a notebook with Fairy Glitter's formula?" Bluenote asked.

Sam felt a cold chill crawl up his spine.

Bluenote closed his fist around the lacrima and Sam felt it sink into his skin.

"H-Hey wait! Don't hurt her. She's my friend. And she'll never give it to you! And what about her dad? And our whole guild!"

Sam started to feel dizzy and sick, his stomach turning violently at the sudden increase in magic. He gripped a tree, and threw up, making arguments and pleas that were ignored by Bluenote. He blacked out, and when he woke up, the first thing he did was run to the Dreyar house, only to find things as peaceful as ever.

Layla was watching the baby while her parents were at the guild, the twins were playing chess, and Yuri was out.

Things were normal, quiet.

Sam thought about telling Master Laxus about what had happened, but he didn't. He thought about telling his father, or Natsu, or anyone, but he already felt excluded and he didn't want anyone to know he'd said anything. None of it had been intentional. Plus, he knew no matter what, everything would be okay. Layla was powerful and then she had a whole family and guild.

If anything got out, he felt like everyone would think he intentionally betrayed the guild.

So he didn't say anything.

He was sure that even if Bluenote showed up, Layla would knock him out and move on. He had no understanding that he was on the level of Laxus and Natsu and had risen to be one of the most powerful figures in the world of dark magic. He didn't comprehend how powerless they were as younger wizards compared to such a powerhouse.

Sam was making casual conversation with the twins and trying to convince himself everything was really okay when he noticed Mavis start fidgeting like she was nervous. Her nose twitched now and then and she looked up at him, a little confused.

"You're making me nervous, could you go away?" Mavis pointedly asked.

She really had no idea how to pinpoint what the problem was, but for some reason she felt very uneasy around Sam. His scent was a little off. "You stink too, go home and take a shower."

Yuri came in with a job slip in hand. "Layla!"

The blonde leaned over the rail. "Yuri, if you wake up the baby, I'm going to leave him with you until he stops crying!"

"You're yelling too!"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

He held up the job slip. "Let's go on this job. Mom and Dad said it was fine since school is out. I need your magic. It's a job to dispel a mysterious shadow. Dad said it might be dangerous. It pays good."

Layla needed no convincing and Sam felt relieved that she was leaving.

Lex started screaming when his sister squealed in excitement, and Anna sighed deeply and headed upstairs to take over the care of their tiny little brother. The baby had been quite a family effort, with everyone joining together to make sure he was well-loved and well taken care of. As far as the older kids were concerned, she realized she was possibly the most mature.

Mavis grumbled at this and knocked the chess pieces onto the floor. "Babies with babies, what a tragedy."

Yuri tilted his head. "I don't think that's what that means."

"Might as well. I was going to win! Can I come on your job?"

Yuri thought about it, and then shook his head. "Stay at home this time. Next time."

Sam decided to go home and was about to leave when Yuri zeroed in on him suddenly and grabbed his arm. "Huh? What is it?"

Yuri asked, "Why do you smell like that?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know…like someone else. Were you in a fight? I think someone bled on you. It's gross."

Sam couldn't smell himself, but he'd come into contact with two dragon noses and they'd both smelled—and been disgusted by—whatever was inside of his body. That made him feel scared to go home, because his dad had a nose too. Then he remembered his dad left for a job and quietly went home to take a shower and think about what to do next.

The oldest Dreyar siblings left and the twins fed, changed, and kept Lex entertained until their parents came home late from work at the guild.

Laxus usually went to his study after dinner, and if he had, he would have found a note left for him by Yuri, whose instincts had been triggered by Sam's nervous behavior and strange scent.

Tonight, he ate dinner, took a shower, and got in bed with Lucy and the newest member of the family.

His wife was giggly with Lex, kissing his feet and his belly and everywhere else.

"Lex, you're a glutton for snuggles," his father said.

Lucy kissed her husband. "His sisters have him so spoiled. He's a happy little guy, isn't he?"

"He's surrounded by pretty girls who tend to his every whim. He's a guy, what guy would complain about that?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at her husband and looked down at the baby. "You're not a guy! You're my precious baby boy, yes you are! But someday, you're going to get big. Mama's little man, that's right." She chased her dotings with a flurry of kisses to the baby.

"Two sons, both unapologetic mama's boys…" he complained.

"Oh hush. You're a bigger whore for my attention than both of them combined. Especially Yuri. I'm so glad I have a new son because I am so tired of him growing up. I can't believe he's about to be sixteen. The twins are turning twelve in three weeks. I feel like I was just pregnant, but then again, we do tend to memorialize traumatic experiences," she answered.

Laxus' brows rose. "Was being pregnant that terrible?"

"With the twins? Hell yes. I love my babies but they overpopulated my uterus, gave me stretch marks, ruined my hips, and let's not talk about my breasts."

Lucy's body insecurities had been a recurring theme in their relationship, and he'd never thought she was unattractive, even for a second. "Still the hottest chick in the world. I'd hit it anyday."

"And yet, you've gone from twice a day to twice a week."

Her husband cringed. "Okay, so I'm not twenty-five anymore. Geeze. If you want it more, I'm happy to oblige. The last thing I want is an unsatisfied wife. I don't have a problem. I mean, I can get it up whenever I want, or whenever you want. Sometimes our kids give me a lot of shit and I just want to go to sleep."

They snuggled their baby and Lucy giggled a bit. "It's fun being together all this time. We've really shared our lives. Marriage and guild and all these babies…I'm so glad we're together. And I kind of like the stage we're at now. We're watching our older babies grow up and our new baby, he's just a cute little thing."

"He's feeling better, I can tell," Laxus answered.

"He's got such a sensitive tummy." She kissed his chubby little cheek, "But if we have lemons and we have to make lemonade, I feel like five days of diarrhea-leaking diapers and projectile vomiting will help our older kids practice safe sex. God, I hope Yuri remembers having diarrhea run down his arm and having Lex puke in his ear every time he has sex until he's thirty."

Having a baby in the house _was_ an important learning experience for the older kids. It seemed to give them an appreciation for their parents, as they had to stand back and realize that in the past, their parents had four kids under the age of five _at the same time_ , with the littlest being twins. The idea was mind-blowing once they saw how hard it was just to take care of one baby.

The next morning, Laxus put their son down for a post-breakfast nap and banged his wife's brains out just to remind her that he could do so at any time he pleased. Then he left mama and baby to have a morning of snuggles in a house that was otherwise empty since the twins were probably at the guild making trouble.

He went on to work, missing the note on the desk in his study yet again.

It was late that night when he finally picked up the folded note.

 _Dad, see Sam. Something is wrong. -Yuri_

Laxus hadn't seen Sam all day, and judging from the fact Yuri had already been gone an entire day, the note wasn't fresh. Knowing Gajeel was on a job, he headed over to the Redfox house and found Levy was making tea in the living room.

The smell of the tea didn't hide the scent, and Laxus recognized it immediately. Levy didn't seem to know anything had changed, but she didn't have a dragon's sense of smell either. If she had, she would have known her house smelled like Acnologia.

Yuri didn't know the scent. He'd only known to be afraid of it.

When he asked where Sam was, Levy told him Sam had been sick most of the day, and feverish. Laxus went on to see him, both confused and very worried about why he was carrying that smell.

Sam was in bed with a cool cloth on his head, but he looked miserable. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was a kid that didn't get sick.

Laxus shut the door. "Sam, what's going on?"

"Nothing, I'm just sick."

He sat on the edge of the bed and looked over the boy, tracing his body through the covers. "You smell like Acnologia. Your body is full of magic. That's why you're sick. I've been sick like this. When someone put a dragon lacrima in my body."

The guildmaster's mind was reeling, trying to put pieces together. There had been rumors Acnologia's death produced a lacrima, but no one knew who picked it up in the chaos after his death. There had been a story, years back, that a dark guild had it, but that all the people that attempted to use it were killed by its power. It made sense that someone born with dragon blood already in them might survive the fusing process.

Sam pulled his hand out from under the covers and opened it, showing a patch of dark, shiny black scales in his palm. His fingers were deforming into claws, and the scales trailed up from his palm to his wrist. "I didn't say yes…It was in my hand and it just went in. I've been having bad dreams even when I'm awake. I don't know what's happening to me."

Laxus asked, "How did you get this? This is something that potentially makes you more powerful than everyone and anyone. It's the only one of its kind and I need to know why you have it."

The boy sat up on the bed. "I was walking down May Street a few weeks ago, and someone asked me if I wanted to be more powerful. He said he could help me. Of course I want to be stronger. Yesterday he took me to meet a man in the East Forest. Someone named Bluenote Stinger."

Bluenote Stinger was powerful, and on the level of their strongest grown wizards, so the idea that he was interacting with the children of the guild was sickening and terrifying. Bluenote had no sense of remorse, no moral compass, and he was as ruthless as could be. He was indeed someone who was powerful enough to have maintained custody of the dragon lacrima, but Laxus' had no idea why he'd drop such an enormous source of power into Fairy Tail.

"He gave it to you?"

Sam nodded.

"Did he ask you for anything in return?"

He nodded again. "He wanted a spell called Fairy Glitter. He said he knew one of the girls had been tutored by Master Makarov. I didn't mean to say it. It was an accident."

"What did you tell him?" he asked, his voice considerably more serious.

"I told him Layla has a notebook."

Laxus' mouth went dry. "Layla has a notebook with the magical formula for Fairy Glitter? And you told Bluenote that."

Sam said, "I didn't mean to."

"And you didn't…run and tell as soon as it happened. I could stopped her from leaving, we could have chased him down when he was close. Good God, Sam, she and Yuri are out there. They've been gone for a day already."

The boy swallowed hard. "I didn't want her to be mad at me. She's strong, right? She can beat anybody."

"Sam…you have no idea what you've done."

"I'm sorry."

He reshuffled his priorities. "I have to go. Don't leave your house and don't talk to anyone until I get back."

Laxus had never heard of this notebook, but it seemed a normally foolish thing for a girl to keep a secret from her father but tell the boy she likes. All he knew was that he was _terrified_.

He took lightning form and went after them, hoping maybe Bluenote hadn't followed, or intended to try and get the spell later on.

XXX

Yuri's ears were ringing when he opened his eyes.

One of the great thing about going on jobs was they could take time and explore the world, so they'd gotten off the train to visit a magic shop they'd heard about in Sorcerer Weekly, and were walking on a somewhat quiet road when…he wasn't really sure what happened, but he assumed that probably had something to do with the blood dripping from his head.

He was hanging from the ceiling by chains, his tiptoes barely touching the floor, which had some strange magic array drawn on it that blocked the use of magic.

The room was mostly empty except for Layla who was sitting at a desk where there was a notebook and pen, arms crossed. The walls and floor were lined in bricks. It was hot.

There was a man there, looming over her with his arms crossed.

Layla looked up at him, and then up at their captor. "Who are you?"

"Bluenote Stinger."

Of course, they'd heard about him. He was a legend, a titan of the dark magic world, a lifelong enemy of Fairy Tail. He was someone on the level of their powerful parents, someone they weren't ready in any kind of way to fight. They knew as strong as they were _at their age_ , that there were classes and levels above them.

He was a killer. He was the type who left bodies wherever he went, and that was normally how the authorities knew where he'd been.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"You know the formula for Fairy Glitter. Write it down," he commanded, pushing the notebook over to her. He held the pen out, and she knocked it out of his hand.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she hissed.

Bluenote used gravity to float the pen back up into his hand. "I'm not patient. I don't like children. Don't test me."

"I've never heard of it."

The old wizard paced the distance between Yuri and Layla. "I know that you have a notebook with the spell's formula written in it. I know you're an extremely intelligent girl. You may not be able to use the spell yet, but you have it up here." He tapped on his temple.

Layla's perception of reality became distorted and confusing at this, because yes, she had a notebook. It had been given to her by her late great-grandfather on the condition she never tell anyone about it. Makarov said it was for when she was older, and that if anyone knew the contents of the book, she'd be in danger.

But she was a teenage girl, and she liked a certain boy, so she'd told him some secrets. Secrets she didn't tell her parents or even her siblings. There was only one living soul in the world who knew about it.

She slammed her hands down on the desk. "Did you hurt Sam?!"

"Hurt? Sam Redfox came to us. He got tired of playing second fiddle to a cute girl and he wanted to be strong. I made him the deal of a lifetime. I traded him a dragon lacrima, and he told me how to get what I want. Your friend sold you out, little girl. He'll be more powerful than any of you, and you…you are going to write that spell down."

Layla started to protest, to argue, but she was intelligent, and she strung together her thoughts quickly.

Yuri on the train said Sam smelled different. Disgusting. Like two scents and one of them was unsettling. She remembered him standing in the living room, just staring, and even then she'd felt like he looked guilty, but that was nothing new; she just assumed it was because he still liked another girl.

"I'll never give it to you. You'll have to kill me."

Bluenote sighed.

Yuri had been silent because his concussion had him a little woozy and he wasn't entirely sure what was going on. But he found himself wide-awake when Bluenote picked the pen up and stabbed it through his shirt into his abdomen, and then turned the metal quill.

Despite his best efforts not to scream, he emitted a high-pitched growl through gnashed teeth.

"Yuri!"

He panted as he felt it pulled from him, and blood started to ooze. It was a fairly shallow wound as far as stabbings were concerned, but it hurt like hell nonetheless.

"Don't to it, Layla. I'm fine…"

Bluenote threw her down to the floor using gravity magic and then stomped hard enough the snap of ribs was heard right before a scream. He pulled her up, by the throat, letting her feet dangle from the ground.

"I'm not going to let you waste my time. You're not going to stall until your guild realizes something is wrong. You're going to start writing now. If you don't, I'll kill your brother. I don't need him. I'll give you to my men down in the village—there's a lot of them, and you're a pretty little virgin. If that's not enough, I'll start breaking your bones. You are _going_ to give me what I want. The only thing you have power over right now is what I have to do to get it."

He dropped her, gasping, holding her side.

Yuri said, "Layla, it's okay. There's not really anything heroic about dying for something like this."

Layla believed Bluenote was going to kill them anyway, because that would help hide his involvement. If they lived and told the guild about what happened to them, he'd be a hunted man. If he killed them, he could go on his way.

The road ahead was unquestionably dark. She knew their enemy would make good on every one of those threats if she resisted him. He'd kill Yuri. He'd give her to the men, and she knew what he was really threatening. He'd hurt her in ways she had no understanding of.

The full weight of her great-grandfather's warnings about the little book rang painfully true. It was dangerous knowledge and she shouldn't have to told anyone.

Her mind wandered to Sam, and then quickly away again.

Bluenote was standing behind her when she cracked a smirk and looked up at her brother.

She reached for the bloody pen, and stood to her feet with a little scream, still holding her side. "Okay. I'll do it. Just don't hurt Yuri anymore."

Yuri was completely certain that whatever Layla started to write, it wasn't what Bluenote was looking for. She was a prodigy, smart, and she was too pig-headed to give in. He felt powerless and pathetic, but at the moment, Bluenote's violence had stopped, and that was a relief. He didn't want to see Layla get hurt, and he really didn't want to get hurt either.

He thought about Sam quite a lot while he hung there.

Layla's pen scraped across the page as she sorted through the things she knew.

First, she and Yuri could not use magic on the array that was on the floor. Bluenote could.

Second, were they not separated by too many levels of skill and sheer power, they might have an advantage. It was easy to bend people with gravity. It took an exponentially higher amount of gravitation force to even bend light. So, in a perfect world where they were older and more powerful, he might have a hard time defending against their attacks.

Third, there was something Makarov told her, and she remembered it, but she didn't know what to do with it. Once, she was sparring with Yuri and when it was over, he asked her what the root of the word 'lightning' was. Light, obviously.

She finished writing and pushed the notebook across the table.

"There. Now let us go, you disgusting, lip-less asshole," she growled.

Bluenote picked up the notebook and sorted through the pages. It was correct that he intended to kill them, and he was relieved the girl had chosen the easier path. Threatening a half-grown woman with gang rape and torturing kids were both things he preferred to avoid.

He decided to test the spell, because the girl seemed sly. If she gave him a spell that didn't work, or was weak, and he'd already kill them, his one chance to satisfy his lifelong obsession would be gone.

The structure of the spell seemed to be correct. He easily committed it to his memory and then extended his hand.

It was fitting to kill them with a Fairy spell, he decided.

Yuri's heart pounded as magic started to gather in Bluenote's wrist.

The spell backfired, and instead of blasting them and half the mountain they were on off, it blew Bluenote to hell, blasted the roof and floor and walls, and send everyone flying in different directions.

Yuri was able to snap his chains off when he'd fallen about halfway down the mountain.

The air stank like blood and it was mostly Bluenote's. Yuri knew needed to find Layla and get her off the mountain while Bluenote was injured—if they could do that, they could probably get to Sabertooth safely. That was the closest allied guild and there were wizards there who were strong enough to defend them.

"Layla!"

He started to climb toward the top again.

Near the summit, Bluenote recovered from the blast and took stock of his injuries. The kids, by themselves, possessed no spell and no magic that would have injured him. But whatever the girl had written caused him to use his own magic and instead of blasting outward, he blew himself up.

His left arm was mostly bones and sinews and burned flesh, and he had burns…burns _everywhere_ , especially his face. He raised a hand to his face, and came to the horrifying realization the blast destroyed his left eye.

He felt rage bubble up in him he hadn't known in a long time. Maybe ever. He was weakened, but he was still much stronger than they were, and all he cared about was getting his hands on the girl and breaking her.

The blast had thrown her down and she landed fairly badly. She was looking for Yuri, but she felt Bluenote approaching.

He grabbed her by the hair, and threw her down on a rocky cliff using gravity magic.

Bluenote slammed her down and lifted her up and slammed her back down over and over, harder and harder, breaking her nose, the rest of her ribs, and causing internal damage and bruising.

She raised a hand, and a wall of light appeared between them. While he leveraged his magic against it to bend the light waves, she looked over the cliff and tried to figure out of the fall would kill her, because Bluenote certainly intended too. She coughed and thick blood came out of her, signaling that despite her adrenaline, she'd been seriously hurt.

The wind blew and when Bluenote felt the sting against his ruptured eye, he pushed past her magic and rolled her over set pressing his knee into her belly, right on the injuries he'd just given her. She couldn't really do anything but gasp for air and scream.

"You _inverted_ the spell, didn't you?" he said grabbing the bottom of her face roughly.

He grabbed a sharp rock and while she thrashed under him, dug it into her eye. She jerked her head and the rock tore at her eyelid and around her eye.

Yuri suddenly hit Bluenote so hard he went off the edge of the cliff.

When he saw how badly their enemy had injured her, he couched next to her. "Oh my God, Layla. Hang on. We have to get out of here."

He didn't really know how they were ever going to do that as Bluenote had transitioned from being calm and collected to being filled with murderous rage. He knew Layla was badly injured, and he certainly couldn't defeat the wizard on his own.

She reached up, and touched his shoulder.

Yuri felt her magic flow into his body at a dizzying, fast pace. His sister had a much larger amount of magic, and her magic was different. She was like their great grandfather and used divine light magic. It was considered a 'high' magic—powerful, pure, usable by only a few.

And he used lightning dragonslayer magic. It was a dose of light for a lightning-bearer.

The two magics tangled and twisted together, and this caused a chain reaction. His senses sharpened to the point he felt like he could see and feel everything around him. He felt his fangs elongate, and scales formed on his face and forearms.

He'd never felt so powerful in his life. Or so unafraid.

Bluenote shot back up to where they were and was knocked out of the air by a jolt of lightning that was more powerful than the young dragon should have been able to produce. He moved fast, leaping from one rock to the other until they landed at the base of the mountain.

Yuri circled to stay on his left side, since his left arm and his left eye were effectively useless.

"Dragonforce…cheeky little shit," he hissed.

Yuri attacked again with explosive, concussive force. The fact that Bluenote was already at half of his normal strength combined with his extensive injuries quickly put him on the defensive. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been in that position, and he found the boy didn't seem like a boy at all.

He looked like a vicious, deadly, full-grown man.

Bluenote quickly realized Yuri was not only crushingly powerful in his current state, but he had a killer pedigree and a lifetime of being trained by one of the most elite wizards in the world. He was the son of Laxus Dreyar, who climbed ranks in the magic world even as a teenager.

"Oh? Are you a man now? Then let's fight like men. Until one of us dies. You either die or you kill."

"Were there ever any other choices for us?"

So they entered a fight to death.

Yuri won.

XXX

Laxus didn't catch up with them for another twenty-four hours, and by that time, they were at a hospital three blocks from Sabertooth, under careful watch from their allies. Sting had sent word to Fairy Tail to send Wendy to them already, and when Laxus showed up, was sitting in the hallway between two hospital rooms where the Dreyar kids were resting.

"Are they all right?"

Sting stood and said, "Yuri got beat up, but nothing that won't heal up on its own. Layla got it pretty bad. She's awake."

Sting gestured to one of the rooms, and Laxus went in and found Layla sitting up in the bed. She was wearing a sports bra and had a massive brace keeping her back completely straight. Her ribs were tightly bound, and he could see a surgical scar that extended down her midsection. Half of her face was covered in bandages as she sat there with the nurse, trying to stay still as the nurse listened to her body with a stethoscope.

"D-Dad?"

"Layla…baby…"

The nurse wrote something on a clipboard and left, and the little blonde looked up at her dad.

She cracked a little smile. "I'm really glad to see you."

"You have officially scared the living shit out of me. I've been chasing after you two for almost two days," he said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "You okay, baby?"

Layla gave him an uneasy smile. "I think. I'm really doped up right now. It's pretty nice. I'll be glad to see Wendy."

He kissed her forehead gently. "You'll be just fine, I promise."

"Dad?"

"What is it?"

Layla touched the bandages over her eye and whimpered, "I lost my eye. It's gone."

He did his best to pull her into a gentle hug, but she seemed to be hurt everywhere. Wendy could patch up broken bones and bruised organs, but she couldn't erase the memory of getting those injuries. And there was nothing she could do about her eye. The late Porlyusica might have been able to help, but he didn't know if there was anyone else who used that magic.

He was glad they were alive, but he'd followed them to where Bluenote was left to rot.

"Bluenote is…was…so powerful. But you guys are alive, and I saw how he ended up. Will you tell me what happened?"

Layla seemed numb as she went through the facts. Her memory was sharp and she repeated what she'd been told about Sam in monotone, like she was talking about someone she didn't know. And then she went on to the uglier parts, like realizing Bluenote was going to kill them no matter what, and that they didn't really have the power to stop him.

They were alive because she outsmarted him, because she used her magic to induce Dragonforce in Yuri, and because Yuri didn't know how to deal with the idea someone had cut his sisters eye out except to beat him to death.

Life was never going to be the same.

Not for her, not for Yuri, and not for Sam.

Laxus listened and when she finished, he said, "Things are going to change, but you'll be okay, I promise. If anything, you and Yuri have proved you're fierce as hell. You took down a very, very powerful dark wizard. People are going to think twice before they fuck with you from now on."

Layla didn't seem to care about this at all. "Dad, I don't ever want to see Sam again."

"Layla, I don't think Sam had any bad intentions toward you. He didn't mean for any of this to happen."

The facts were damning:

Sam made contact with strangers, Sam disclosed extremely dangerous information, Sam received a reward for this, and he didn't tell anyone that it happened. As a result of that disclosure, a powerful dark wizard targeted and almost killed two of his peers. The only thing that was up for debate is how much Sam understood and intended.

"I don't care at all about his intentions, Dad."

As guildmaster, he had an absolute disaster to contend with. The sky was going to fall on Sam even if he was only guilty of being foolish and insecure, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was going to be met with hate and distrust. They would hold him responsible.

He thought about trying to talk Layla into having mercy on him, but she was young, and he couldn't expect her to think or feel like he did. She trusted him and told him a secret, he repeated it, and she had to fight like hell just to survive.

Sam became stronger. She lost an eye.

The Fairy Tail kids had always been so close, so inclusive, so cohesive. They played together, went on adventures together, lied for each other, kept secrets, and suddenly, a huge chasm had opened in that order. Sam was inevitably going to find himself without friends or allies, probably even among the adult members.

He decided not to make his case with Layla. It wasn't fair, all things considered. She already had too much to deal with and process, no matter how tough she was acting.

The door creaked open after she'd gone back to sleep, and he looked up to find Wendy and Lucy, who had Lex in her arms.

"Laxus? You're here? We've been looking everywhere for you! You can't just vanish into thin air and not tell anyone!" she exclaimed.

Laxus could tell Lucy was more than a little pissed off and then she saw Layla.

"Oh my God…what happened?!"

"I found out Bluenote Stinger was probably after them so I left in a hurry," he said as he took the baby from her. "Where are the twins?"

"With Natsu and Lisanna."

Laxus explained to Lucy, whose parental response was much like his: some mix of fear, anger, and frustration that their babies had been swept up into trouble. The baby started screaming and it was far too much noise for Wendy to concentrate on healing, so Laxus took Lex out into the hall.

Once he'd soothed the baby, he opened the door to the room right next to Layla's and found Yuri and Lilia Eucliffe snuggled up tight in the hospital bed while she spoon-fed him ice cream.

"Dad?"

"You'd be amazed at how quickly I just stopped feeling sorry for you," he answered.

Lilia said, "But Master, look at him. He's all beat up. All bruised up and sore and can barely move at all. My poor baby."

Laxus took out his wallet and gave her some money. "Big favor. When Layla starts to feel better, she's going to want creature comforts. You're friends, so can you go get some stuff? An outfit, some lip gloss, you know…girl stuff."

"Of course, Master. I'll be back as soon as I can," she said as she disentangled herself from Yuri and bounced out with his money in hand.

This left the two men, the younger of which sighed.

"Dad, you didn't have to ruin that."

Laxus sat next to his son and toward the ice cream from the table while he held Lex against his shoulder. "You want me to spoon-feed you?"

"No thanks."

"Are you sure? I mean, I have a lot of experience feeding cranky babies. Open up so the choo-choo can come in?"

Yuri glared, and then looked worried. "You've seen Layla?"

"Yes. Your mother and Wendy are with her. She'll be okay. It's going to be different, but life always goes on. Except for Bluenote. Someone beat the living fuck out of him until he died."

His son shifted uncomfortably. "He made me do it. He said I was either going to kill him or die. Not really a hard choice."

"You entered Dragon Force?"

"Yeah."

"How was it?"

"Kind of weird. That guy was really going to kill us, no matter what. I was surprised we made it."

Laxus nodded. "But you survived. That's really the only thing that matters."

Yuri looked down at his little brother and reached out to pinch the baby's toes. "You almost became the only son, and we can't have that."

"Are you really okay, son?"

His son took a deep breath. "Everything is going to change, isn't it?"

His father nodded. "Life has to change. It's not possible for things to stay still. Some changes are going to be terrible and difficult to endure. Others will be great. That's just the way life is."

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	50. The Guildmaster

What to do, what to do.

Being a father in the circumstance he was in was easier; a father looks out for his babies. Being guildmaster? Not so much. He had to look out for everyone's babies, the overall health of the guild, and the future of their next generation.

Now that he finally had Layla back home, he had to deal with it.

He asked Yuri to hold his tongue and he had, and Sam…Sam hadn't left his house since Laxus had seen him.

For the time being no one knew what had happened, but he had to make a decision about how to address the events in a way that was right and most beneficial for everyone. Sleepless nights had put him no closer to knowing what the 'right' thing was.

In his mind, Sam was probably only guilty of being young and stupid. Maybe he had wrong motives, maybe he made bad decisions, but there was no part of him that believed he knowingly caused Layla to be put into such grave danger. Even if he had a black spot in his heart somehow and he really had knowingly caused the showdown between Layla and Yuri and Bluenote, that didn't mean he was irredeemable or evil.

They were all so young.

It was four in the morning and he was considering all of this in the living room with a box of photographs Lucy brought him as a reminder that the children had a long, sweet history together.

He asked her several times a day what she thought, but she didn't have any answers either. Despite the fact he'd been avoiding it, Levy and Gajeel had visited him earlier. It was awkward and they seemed to feel they were responsible. The entire situation was weird and confusing for everyone, but he had the displeasure of being guildmaster, so it was all in his hands.

He heard someone stir—a bedroom door opening and then the bathroom, and looked back down.

The baby started crying an hour later, and he went upstairs to the nursery.

"Good morning, son. What's on your mind at four in the morning, hm?" he said as he gently took the baby from the crib and looked up to find his wife tiredly standing in the door.

"Honey, you didn't come to bed? You have to sleep you know," she said with a yawn, "and give me that baby. You need rest."

"I'm fine."

Lucy pulled him down and kissed him on the lips. "You're a good man. Amazing dad. Great husband. Wonderful guildmaster. Everyone knows whatever you do, it'll be the right thing."

"I don't even know what the right thing is."

Lucy changed their youngest son, and he sat in the rocking chair, careful not to let it move. For a dragon slayer, a rocking chair was practically a device of torture. Sadly, sometimes it was the only way Lex would go to sleep, which was never fun for his father.

"What do you think?" he asked.

His wife smiled softly at him. "I've been thinking a lot too. These kids are a little different than we were. When we came to the guild, most of us were alone. No parents, no brothers or sisters. So the guild was the only family we had. Our kids have both blood family and guild family, and I think they haven't had an opportunity to realize how important those bonds are."

Laxus asked, "I don't believe Sam intended for anyone to get hurt, especially not Layla. I think he's an insecure little asshole, but I think I was exactly like that when I was his age."

"Oh, you were a real piece of work by the time I met you. I was thinking about back when Phantom Lord attacked."

Her husband thought about this carefully and thought back to his grandfather's time as guildmaster. Every young wizard made terrible mistakes in an attempt to find their way, some intentional, some misguided, some reckless. Natsu stole an S-Class job flyer and could have gotten his entire team killed, Gajeel was completely misguided, Erza covered up the existence of the Tower of Heaven…they'd all messed up.

Laxus said, "The part of me that is a Dad is infuriated and I think it would be easier for Layla if I expel him from the guild. But I can't make decisions based on that. Gramps didn't make me anybody's dad; he made me everyone's guildmaster."

Lucy fixed the baby's clothes and then held him against her shoulder as she turned to kissed him on the forehead. "Do you really believe that? That it would be best for our daughter?"

"You don't?"

His wife answered, "I think it would be the worst thing. Layla hates Sam, and if Sam disappears from her life she'll continue to hate him. It'll grow and she'll just be angry at him for hurting her. They're guild family, Laxus, and when someone in a family messes up, you don't send them away. She needs to stop thinking of him as her enemy, and see he's a human who made a mistake."

"We don't know for sure it was a mistake. The facts are ugly."

"What if he did have the worst intentions? Let's say Sam did know Layla was going to get hurt and he really has a dark blotch in his heart. He's young. If we embrace him and love him, we can drive that darkness out of him. If we push him away it'll consume him in the end. It might be harder for Layla in the short-term, but it's what's best for her in the end. Even if Sam chooses a darker path in life, she has to face everything and become better for it," she said.

At that very moment, Layla was the bathroom down the hall.

Yuri already made a full recovery from his injuries, but she was lagging behind. She wasn't a dragon, and her body didn't heal so fast. Wendy's magic helped with the wholesale damage, but the recovery process was still taxing.

It was unusual for her to be awake early in the morning, but she'd had a nightmare that left her sweaty and restless, so she decided to take a shower and then she'd attempt to sleep again. She stood under the cool water for quite some time, and then washed her hair and body thoroughly.

Her parents hadn't had any luck finding a wizard who could make her an artificial eye—at least, not one that worked. It was possible she was going to be blind on that side for the rest of her life, and she hated it, but it wasn't anything anyone could change. She still hoped maybe they'd find someone, but in the interim, she'd been given two options: first, her eyelid could have been stitched closed or second, she could wear a glass eye.

She'd opted for the later, but when it wasn't in, her eye was a terrible thing to look at. When her eye was open, there was a mass of sticky, wet-looking flesh behind her eyelid. Bluenote had carved a lot of the skin and flesh from around her eye, so even after Wendy healed it, she had indentation across the skin in a crude pattern that made it perfectly clear someone had gouged her eye out with a rough, terrible instrument.

She'd always been a pretty girl: long light-blonde hair that fell in big, gorgeous curls, huge bright blue eyes with big thick Dreyar eyelashes, and her mother's lips and curves. Now, she was maimed, scarred, and her once-pretty face had been all marked up.

With a cringe, she put the glass eye in and pushed it into place until it squished. It was the same color as her natural eye and didn't really look fake. It could move with her natural eye, and was only really distinguishable as artificial when she was in very low or very bright light since only her natural pupil expanded and contracted.

And then she stared at the scar.

And she stared at her hair.

It was the end of the pretty girl. She felt like she had to be reborn as…something else.

After rummaging through the drawers, she found the scissors she usually used to cut Anna's bangs and started to cut away at her long hair. She cut it into a bob that looked a little wild with her curls, and then she stared at that scar.

First, she tried to cover it up with makeup, but there was no covering up the indentation or the jagged edge of her bottom eyelid.

Then, she tried to tell herself it would be okay since she wasn't the only person in her family rocking an eye scar. She'd never admit it to her father, but his scar was cool to her. But her scar wasn't cool. It looked like someone did something disgusting and painful to her.

She traced the outline of it with an eyeliner pencil, then built up until the edges were clean, and added to it, and wiped off and started over a dozen times until she'd covered the original scar in a lightning bolt shape, with the top half of lightning bolt extending from the inside corner and the bottom half from the outside corner, following along her lower lash line.

It was tough-looking. A little bit sexy. And she decided, that would be just fine—she sure as hell wasn't going to live the rest of her life looking like the sad victim of some gruesome violation. Besides, with a scar over her eye like that, any enemy would know she might be visually impaired on that side and that could get her killed eventually. She knew from listening to Yuri that half the reason he'd beaten Bluenote was because he circled around to his blind side every chance he could.

No, that wouldn't do at all. No one needed to know. She started her work, her lips pressed together in determination.

Down the hall in the nursery an hour later, her parents were still discussing the best course of action to take.

Laxus knew Lucy was right on all counts the more she talked to him. The worst thing for a powerful wizard was to harbor hatred and even if Layla was hurt and angry, time would soothe those wounds if given an opportunity.

"How do we keep the guild from treating Sam like an outcast? That's going to be a big issue," he asked.

Lucy said, "The only people who know about Sam are Layla and Yuri and us. If they don't tell anyone, Sam will be safe."

"Layla's not going to go for that," he argued.

"She will. She has a good heart, and if we as her parents show her the right way, she'll do what's right. Layla knows in her heart to protect her guildmates. I have faith in her. She's growing up and she's a strong woman," his wife answered.

His nose twitched. "I smell blood…"

Laxus jumped up and ran down the hall and banged on the bathroom door with Lucy right behind him. "Are you all right?"

His daughter called, "Much better."

"What's wrong? I smell blood."

Layla dipped the razor blade under water from the sink and continued her work. The nerves were so damaged she really didn't feel much, and it was strangely exhilarating. The sink was full of blood, skin, and some of her eyebrows.

"I'm a girl in the bathroom, you really want to know why I'm bleeding?"

Laxus was completely certain that wasn't what he was smelling, and he started to worry intensely as he stared at the door.

Lucy whispered, "What's going on? Something is obviously wrong! What if she's struggling with her self-esteem and she's hurting herself?"

"That doesn't seem like something she'd do. Layla makes other people miserable when she's unhappy," he quietly answered.

Layla said, "You're bad at whispering, Dad."

Her father answered, "You seem to feel well enough to give us shit, and yet you are bleeding. I'm coming in."

"I'm not decent."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Then I'm coming in."

The lock on the door turned and they found their daughter standing there wrapped in a towel, surrounded by a lot of hair in front of the bloody sink. She was holding a towel over her face.

"Good morning," she said.

Lucy asked, "What's wrong? What did you do?"

She lowered the towel and showed them the design she'd carved around her eye, hiding the original scar.

They just stared for a second, and then Lucy passed the baby off to her husband and lunged for the medicine cabinet. "Why would you…this is…are you okay?" She was in a state of panic as she moved, doubting her daughter's sanity and determination all at once.

Layla seemed calm enough when she answered, "I was going to have a scar. I don't want people to think I'm a victim or to look at me for the rest of my life and feel sorry for me because someone did something bad to me. This way I have a scar, but it's cool. And sexy."

It made sense on a number of levels, but she wasn't surprised her parents were disturbed.

The little blonde looked up at her dad. "You could singe it closed for me so it stops bleeding. Or I could just sit here and keep bleeding you know…forever."

Her father had a number of thoughts on what she'd done, but he could understand why she did it. "Close your eyes."

She yelped when a tiny bolt of lightning coursed over the fresh wound and burned it closed, leaving her with a reddish but very artistic-looking mark that looked like it was purely intentional, like a tattoo. With her glass eye in, it was impossible to tell she'd had such a major injury.

Layla clenched her eyes shut when Lucy sprayed disinfectant on her entire face. "Mom! Stop please…Mom…Mom! You're acting weird!"

"I'm acting weird. Me. I, your mother, am acting weird. There's so much hair on the floor it looks like an animal died in here and the sink is full of your blood and skin. Please, tell me I'm the weird one!" she said.

Layla said, "Anyway, I think I'm okay now. I'm probably going to go back to bed."

"Baby, we love you, but what is wrong with you?" her mother asked.

"Nothing. Everything is fine now. I have a new haircut, a sexy new scar, a pretty fake eye."

Her father narrowed his eyes. "Did you make it 'sexy' on purpose?"

"Sexy never happens by accident, Dad. There are no accidents in life."

Laxus said, "And yet you exist."

"You're so gross, Dad. I'm going back to sleep."

Lucy pointed at the floor. "After you clean this up. And if you cut yourself ever again, we're going to hide everything sharp in this house and find a nice professional for you to talk to. I'm going to assume this is a one-time thing for you and you're doing it to be cute, and not because you're mentally unstable. We'll talk in the morning."

They returned to the nursery with Lex and waited for their daughter to clean up and go to bed. She went to sleep and was snoring nearly immediately, which left her parents a little bewildered.

"That is your child," Lucy said.

Laxus shook her head. "That's your kid. She's very smart, Lucy. The original scar made it obvious she had trauma to her eye. Now, the scar looks cosmetic and will attract attention away from the eye. No one is going to know. I assume she's going to keep it a secret from the guild."

"Do you think she's actually thinking that far ahead?"

"She's always ahead of the game. Ask Bluenote Stinger."

They took the baby downstairs for an early-morning feeding and continued their discussion about how to deal with the kids. Then they snuggled on the couch and Laxus finally fell asleep with his head on her lap with Lex sleeping on his chest.

Lucy noted that they were both just big babies, and eventually wiggled out from under her husband and put their son to bed again.

The kids gradually awoke one by one:

Yuri woke up first and was already confused and disturbed by the time he made it downstairs.

"Mom, the bathroom stinks like blood and I can't find my razor."

Lucy collected breakfast ingredients from the fridge. "You don't want to know. Your dad has an extra in his cabinet."

"There's hair everywhere."

"Is Layla actually good at cleaning?"

Anna crawled onto the chair next to him and said, "Yeah, since never."

Rai the Exceed sat down at the table with them, and uttered the chosen phrase. Almost every Exceed had one particular word or phrase they uttered constantly, and Rai's was a little creepy:

"Meow!"

Lucy was already tired of it and wished she and her husband had stuck to their guns on not letting their children have any pets. One Exceed was somehow far more trouble than the days when a full-grown tiger stalked about the house in the middle of the night. Between a baby with a sensitive stomach, an annoying Exceed, teenagers, twins, and all the drama unfolding, she felt like her emotional and intellectual plates were more than full.

Yuri said, "You down for lunch tomorrow, Mom?"

He'd been faithful to his promise to take her to lunch once a week, and she found this wondrous.

"Of course. I need a break. My whole world is nonsense and stress right now."

Mavis came down next, looking particularly cross. "I woke up to the smell of blood and burning flesh earlier."

Lucy's brow rose. "…and went back to sleep?"

"I assumed it wasn't important."

Their mother was oddly exasperated by this point in the morning. "Mavis, I'm not even going to start with you today."

Layla eventually joined them, seeming oddly refreshed. Her hair was shorter and wild-looking, her eye had a fresh wound carved around it, she had on lip gloss and cute outfit.

They all stared at her until Mavis asked, "Who the hell are you?"

"I needed a new look."

Yuri wasn't sure what to think about it, but if Layla was being her erratic and stubborn self, he felt like it meant she was probably okay. One of the hardest things about what happened was watching his sister go through feeling like a helpless victim.

Lucy fed her children, fussed at them about coarse language in front of the baby, cautioned them against using their time off from school to get into any trouble, made sure the baby had everything he needed for a day with his sisters, and then went straight back to bed.

She was half asleep when she felt her husband slide into the sheets next to her.

Several sleepless nights in a row made her feel grateful he was finally able to get some rest, so she snuggled up to him.

"I love you."

"Love you too," he answered, giving her butt a little squeeze.

Lucy frowned. "Don't even think about it. You're exhausted. Go to sleep. I don't even want your cranky, half-asleep zombie sex."

"Good, I wasn't going to give it to you anyway." He kissed her and pulled her close. "When I get some sleep in me, you're done."

"Yeah, whatever," she said before a yawn.

Laxus awoke in the early evening, took a shower, and informed his oldest children they were going to have a formal meeting with him at the guild after dinner. He passed the message along to Levy to tell Sam, and at eight both Layla and Yuri were sitting in his office.

There were three chairs lined up across from his desk, and Layla glared at the empty one.

"You didn't invite Sam, did you?"

"I did."

She started to throw a temper tantrum and he put up a finger and said, "Not now. Remember I'm your guildmaster, and not just your father."

His voice was firm, and a little threatening.

The door opened and Sam peeked in first. He had a little false confidence because he didn't recognize Layla from behind since her hair was gone. But when he sat down, he looked over and suddenly realized his lifelong friend was right next to him, staring daggers into him. She was so angry she was shaking, and when he looked away from her he found Yuri's face suggested he was going to beat him down at some point in the future.

"Everyone be quiet, don't move. Just listen. I swear I'll zap the first person who moves or talks out of turn," he threatened.

He looked from one to another.

"Sam, you engaged in a series of reckless behaviors and exposed one of your guildmates. I believe you when you say you didn't have wicked intentions, but I don't know for sure. The fact is that you started this. It had consequences for your guildmates. The person you knowingly made contact with stabbed Yuri and busted his head. He nearly killed Layla—she had twenty broken bones and internal bleeding. He also gouged out one of her eyes."

Sam started to speak, but he remembered the threat and looked down, gripping the edge of the chair. He felt sick and disgusted with himself, angry at his own actions, and pathetic. He felt like everything was wrong and he didn't know how he could ever make it right again. He would have done anything and given anything to make it right.

Laxus added, "But Layla disclosed knowledge of the notebook to you after she'd been warned it was dangerous and would create enemies. If she'd been wiser, she wouldn't have told you. That's really the root mistake that allowed everything else to happen.

"Yuri dragged Layla off on a job that day because he saw a job that would put him close to Sabertooth and he dragged Layla into it because it was a job he wouldn't have been able to finish on his own."

After he laid out the blame, he studied each of them. Sam seemed to take it with a little grace, but Layla was clearly infuriated to have any of the responsibility placed on her and Yuri looked a little agitated that he'd been pulled in too.

Laxus added, "All of this happened because each of you made mistakes. It's okay. You're all young. You're teenagers. You suck at life. It's okay. Everyone messes up, gets bumps and bruises, but we have to keep moving forward. We'll move forward from this. You don't have to be best friends, you don't have to feel okay about it."

He knew his daughter was extremely displeased, Sam was clearly grateful, and Yuri didn't seem to feel any kind of way.

If she was mad at him, she'd get over it. Eventually.

Layla glared at Sam, and then her eyes moved down to his hand and arm, where she could feel the dark magic pulsing. He was darkness and she was light; suddenly they were opposing forces in nature.

Laxus added, "To protect everyone involved, I think its best if certain details aren't known by the guild or anyone else. It would be very dangerous for anyone to know Sam was involved, or about Fairy Glitter or about Layla's eye or Dragonforce. Right now we can decide not to tell anyone, and everyone will be safe. Don't test me on this – if any one of the three of you talks, I'll expel you for further exposing the guild to danger."

Layla was beyond infuriated at her father, but she knew he was being serious. There were moments where he was just her dad and moments where he was just her guildmaster, and this was the latter. It made her so angry that Sam was going to be able to continue living his life free of the fallout, and she would have to content with having one eye. It wasn't fair, and she found herself trembling out of upset.

Yuri was fine with this solution, as it was the only thing that allowed life to remain normal. He wanted to pound Sam into the ground, but he also believed Sam didn't intend for Layla to be so seriously injured.

Sam felt undeserving of the grace, and maybe like it would be better if he'd been kicked out of the guild. He felt like he deserved it.

Their guildmaster continued, "Sam, I'm suspending you from going on jobs for the indefinite future. I'm researching ways to get that lacrima out of you. It's not fusing with you, it's fighting you. I think it's either going to make you sick and kill you or take control of you. I'm also disinclined to let you keep it considering how you gained it in the first place. If anyone contacts you from outside of the guild, I expect you to tell me immediately after. If I catch you associating with any wizard who isn't in an allied guild, you can consider yourself expelled.

"Layla, I want the notebook. It's possible Bluenote disclosed its existence to associates, so it's dangerous for you to have it. Don't let on you know any of the spells in the book and definitely don't try to use them. I'll give it back to you at some point later on.

"Yuri, be a little bit smarter. Dragonforce is in your reach as long as Layla is. I assume you might be able to use it with Lilia's power since that's light also. But don't. That's something for desperate situations and no one needs to know you can do it."

The teenagers nodded at their individual sentences and he asked, "Any questions?"

Three heads shook.

"Layla, Yuri, you can go now."

His oldest children stood up and before Layla left, she turned and said, "I still hate you, Sam Redfox."

The boy flinched. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."

She slammed the door and Sam slumped down in his chair.

Laxus said, "Don't worry. Her temper runs a little hot. Time will smooth most of this over. I think your chances of ever dating her have evaporated, but she'll probably eventually befriend you again."

"Why would she? Look at what I did."

"When I was older than you, our guild was attacked by Phantom Lord. Your father was in that guild. He beat the snot out of your mother, and hung her in East Gate Park. The guild was damaged severely, and I was asked to help. I could have completely changed everything that happened. I mean, I'm not digging your dad, but at that point, I was levels above any of the wizards that were involved. But I said no, that they got what they deserved for being weak. The guild was trashed, and everybody got hurt."

Sam couldn't imagine his guildmaster ever being like that. "People forgave you?"

"Look, you're a product of a relationship that started because your dad beat the crap out of your mom. People get over stuff."

"Is that why you got kicked out of the guild?"

"I got kicked out of the guild for booby-trapping the city and making everyone fight each other, turning the women to stone, threatening to blow up Magnolia, and then trying to kill everyone with a spell that didn't work because I wasn't as much of an asshole as I thought. You're not even close to that level of fucked up. My grandfather was really patient with me until that point, so don't test me, but don't think I'm going to give up on you either. You're young, stupid, and kind of an asshole, but I've been there."

Sam nodded. "Is Layla's eye really gone? Because of me?"

"She's found a path forward and you will too. You can't change what's already happened, Sam."

The boy sat there for a long time, considering everything that had happened. Then he said, "I really didn't mean it. I wanted to become strong for her, but she got hurt."

"Dragons are protectors. You have to decide on what you're going to protect, and your strength will come on its own. You don't need anything else. If you make up your mind that you're going to protect your guild, the rest of it will fall in place, I promise."

Sam nodded. "Thank you, Master."

"You ready to head home?"

He nodded again.

When he put his hand on Sam's shoulder, the boy abruptly embraced him and started sobbing like a baby, feeling a mixture of pain about everything he'd caused and relief that he wasn't going to be removed from his guild family.

"It's all right, Sam. We're all going to be okay as long as we stick together. That's what it means to be a part of this guild. We tackle our problems head-on and we do it together."

Laxus held Sam for a long time and knew he'd somehow found the correct path to take. They'd all be better off in the end, even if it was harder at the moment. It was an important lesson for each of them, and it was better to learn early on than to be stubborn and have to learn the hard way. He knew that from his own experiences, and he didn't want any of their young wizards to end up on the road he'd started on at their age.

He walked Sam home, and returned to his house to find things were more or less like he expected. Anna was dressing up her baby brother whether he liked it or not (and he did not), Mavis was trying and failing to beat up Iggy in the backyard, and Iggy was in the backyard because he felt extremely strange with his girlfriend and her adoration of babies. Between a baby Exceed and her baby brother, Iggy felt more awkward than not.

Yuri was with his mother in the kitchen, washing dishes while she worked on an accounting ledger.

"How's Layla?"

Yuri flatly answered, "She hates you."

"You okay?"

He nodded. "Sam's just stupid right? I don't think he's evil."

"Not even really stupid. Just young. Like you."

Lucy looked up and gave him a little smile. "You're a good guildmaster."

He kissed her hair and then heard the baby yell. "Anna, stop pissing him off. You're not the one who has to stay up with him when he gets in a bad mood. Let the baby chill and go annoy your boyfriend."

"Meow!"

"K!"

They hit the back door after handing a fussy baby off to their father.

Lex was possibly the most spoiled baby that had ever lived, and was more than accustomed to being passed around between his parents and siblings. He was always in someone's arms, always getting a good snuggle in, and when he wasn't, he typically let them know he expected it. He'd quickly made the turn from being a neglected hospital orphan to being the center of attention.

"This kid is going to be such a brat…"

Lucy said, "Like the first four?"

"Why did we have kids again?"

"Cause you got me knocked up on our wedding night?"

Yuri turned. "Eww…Mom. Dad. Please."

"You know we're talking about you," Lucy answered.

"That happened after you got married?" he asked, "I mean, when people get married and then they have a baby nine months later…"

After a terrible stressful few days, Laxus couldn't help but bust out laughing at his son.

Lucy asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"Our son. He apparently thinks he was conceived out of wedlock. What, did you think we ran out and got married because I got your mom knocked up and then along came you?" he answered.

Yuri seemed suspicious. "Well, kind of. I've thought for a long time it happened like that."

Lucy quickly answered, "What kind of girl do you think I am? I'd never!"

"Ummm…" Yuri stared at the dishes still sitting in the sink and considered abandoning his task.

Laxus on the other hand said, "Babe, I didn't really lie to him about…"

"You told our son we did it before we were married?!" she indignantly asked.

Her husband looked at their son, then at his wife. "I didn't know I was supposed to lie?"

"Gah! What is wrong with you?! You told our son we had premarital sex!" she shrieked.

"Our son is having premarital sex, so I felt like it was wise to let him know it is normal and that he should be safe."

Yuri dropped a plate in the soapy water and dried his hands. "I'll come back and finish these later. I need to go upstairs and…I don't know. Hang myself."

Lucy said, "Son, you were not conceived out of wedlock. You're not a bastard child, I promise. We got married, and we made you, and then you were born. The wholesome, good, old-fashioned way."

"Believe her, she'd never lie to you about something like that," his father sarcastically answered.

Yuri took a deep breath. "….do you guys have some rope? And I need to borrow a chair if that's okay."

Their son suddenly broke out into a run and went upstairs, and Lucy punched her husband on the arm.

"Our son thought we got married because I got you pregnant with him. That's so amusing I almost can't contain myself," he said as he turned to her with a smirk.

"You're an idiot."

"Stop pouting. It's too cute."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Your chances of scoring tonight are zero. I'm pissed off and I'm about to start my period. Have a nice life, Laxus. I'm going upstairs to take a long bath, and then I'm going to ignore you for the rest of the night."

She stopped briefly to kiss her baby boy. "You're such a handsome boy, yes you are. You're the only male in this house that doesn't give me grief, Lexy."

Her husband offered one last provocation as she started up the stairs. "You look pretty fine from behind."

"Get a life!"

The last sound as she made her way up was the sound of his low laugh, and then some whispers to their baby boy, undoubtedly about how 'crazy' women were.

He finished the dishes, and watched the twins and Iggy sparring through the window while Lex took his bottle.

"You've got a good family. Crazy, but good. Your Mama is my favorite person ever. I love that woman. Pretty and feisty. When you grow up, find a girl like her and you'll have a great life."

He sent Iggy home when it started to get late and sent his now sweaty, dirty twins upstairs to bathe and get ready for bed. They were good girls; a little wild in their own little ways. All the kids were growing up, and he was proud of each of them.

After everyone was in bed and asleep, including Lex, he noticed Layla's light was still on and had a thought. He ventured into the attic to find a long-lost relic of his young life. The attic was filled with memories: photos, pictures, toys that were once beloved but now outgrown, dresses worn to long-passed birthday parties, and then there was also a lot of junk he didn't recognize at all.

Laxus briefly wondered if age was turning his wife into a hoarder, and then decided he'd address it if the attic became too full.

When he finally found what he was looking for, he felt a wave of nostalgia.

He went downstairs and went into Layla's room to find she was looking at a copy of Sorcerer's Weekly Teen with a pen in hand.

Her face twisted in anger at the sight of him, and he sat down at the edge of the bed.

"Hate me?"

"Yes!"

"How much? A little. A lot?"

"As much as possible."

He held up what was once his most prized possession: a pair of spiked magic headphones. "When I was your age, I got these. When I didn't want to hear anyone's bullshit, I'd turn them up and chill. Then I came to a point in my life where it was time for me to listen and time for me to talk, and I guess I didn't need them anymore."

Layla took them into her hands and examined them. There were some nicks and they needed to be polished so badly. But they were cool to her, so badass and so unique all at once. She'd never seen anything like them.

"I wore these during some of my most important battles: against my enemies and sometimes, against myself."

She held them up to her ears and the magic in her body activated them, causing them to stay on her ears. "Dad, are you lying?"

"Lying, why?"

"There's no way you ever wore anything this cool. I mean, let's be real. You're a middle-aged man with five kids. Your cool factor is pretty low," she teased.

Her father stretched out on her bed next to her.

"Hey, I still hate you. Get out, Dad."

Her father pulled her into a forced hug and said, "Really? You hate me and I'm a middle-aged loser with too many kids and no fashion sense."

"Let me go, you big jerk!"

"Nope."

Layla finally wrestled free from him and sat up. "Can't you just let me be pissed?"

"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous. Besides, I'm very proud of you, you know."

This brought her to a full stop. "Proud?"

"You've always had two dueling sides. You've been one part ferocious and one part prissy princess since you were little. You can't be both at the same time—you can either be a whiny brat or a confident, strong woman, not both. You've suddenly burst from your cocoon and the fiercest version of you has survived. This is an important moment in your life. You don't realize it now, but this is probably the biggest step toward adulthood that you're going to take."

Layla took these words to heart and even though she wanted to stay angry, it was hard. Her father had been there for her every step of the way, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't harbor anger toward him for long.

Laxus reached for the magazine and found the numbers written all over the boys. "What is this?"

"Potential boyfriends list. My search for true love continues. I want to have a boyfriend. I may not be as pretty now, but I want to know what it's like to be with someone, Dad. Hold hands. Kiss."

Normally, he would have broken out the usual rhetoric but he knew the events had taken a toll on her previously impenetrable self-esteem. He assumed any girl that age would feel a little insecure about the changes to her appearance.

He looked over at her and said, "You're still gorgeous, you know. If you were trying to date some local asshole, maybe he'd bemoan your hair being short or not having perfect skin or whatever. But these guys…" he held up the magazine, "They like fierce women."

"I'm kind of sexy and a bad girl now."

"Uhhh, no. You're my baby, I changed your diapers."

"Get out, Dad."

He kissed her forehead. "Thanks for being willing to have mercy on Sam. You'll look back on this in the future and realize how important it was, I promise."

She shook her head. "I still hate him."

"It'll get better. Trust me. You'll forgive him long before he forgives himself. Goodnight, Baby."

"Goodnight, Daddy."

 ** _Please Review!_**

AN: Thanks to all who are still with me at 50 chapters!

Special thanks to Megumiyoung, Guest, saskiarose, newhee89, pandorababe, 17, T, Morenoel, chan19, wordsaremyspells1331, tiernank, katiekat2001, yed01, kennedydreyar, xxshyxx, guest, highfirebuilder, guest, minsugaCTS420, silverinu93, screennamesarelame, savygirl1515, thornado, rebel.17, b2utifulshawol, helenezahl, flamey owl, aviend, fairy-gg, sassykitten1701, and Paname for reviewing!


	51. The Scarred Ones

There were two sounds that Lucy loved the most:

She liked the growly, rugged gasps her husband emitted in the throes of passion. She loved the things he whispered in her ear as he took her with as much fervor as when she was only nineteen, if not more. When it came to sex, he was always perfect or close to it, and she was glad to have never known another man.

Her second favorite sound was the sound of giggling baby.

She woke up this morning to find her two youngest in the kitchen together. Since Lex had reached the age where he could sit up on his own in his little baby chair, he was often an audience of one to the performance artistry of four older siblings that were more than happy to provide entertainment.

Lex was sitting on his chair on top of the kitchen table, squealing and giggling with his legs and arms flailing about madly while Mavis tickled him lightly with her fingertips.

Lucy joined in, showering him in kisses and tickles herself, reveling in his immeasurable, excited glee.

Two months after the incident with Bluenote Stinger, life had continued.

Sam was rarely seen, but that was in part due to the fact the lacrima was making him progressively sicker and in part because he was ashamed of the hurt he'd caused.

The irony was that in his mind before Bluenote Stinger, he'd wanted to become stronger so he could be a better man and so he'd be someone who deserved to be with a girl like Layla. When the dust settled, he realized she'd never asked him to be anything but loyal to her. And the object that was supposed to make him stronger? It was whittling down the strength in his body, bit by bit.

Acnologia was a user of dark, ancient primordial magic, and Layla used light, so she could sense it constantly. Once, she walked past the Redfox house and she could feel it, pulsing through his body.

He could sense her too, like a single star on an otherwise black night that never seemed to end.

She was quite busy telling herself she was all right to bother with Sam, but there were times she woke up to the memory of Bluenote breaking her against the rocks and she still felt mad at him.

But she started to feel something else—it wasn't pity, or kindness, or anything else she knew how to describe. She just knew that he was fighting it, even though it was weakening him.

The twins turned twelve.

And then a couple of weeks later, Yuri turned sixteen.

Everyone was so excited about the Junior Grand Magic Games, although Laxus had announced Sam probably wouldn't compete due to his 'illness.' Laxus didn't want to take Sam around a bunch of other wizards because anyone experienced, powerful, or with gifted perception would realize something terrifying was inside of him.

More importantly, he didn't want to make the Magic Council look in Fairy Tail's direction. Bluenote Stinger's death was a major upset in the world of magic, because he was really powerful and no one had any clue as to who had been involved. At least, that's what he thought right until Jura Nekkis entered the guild with a dozen investigators and guards.

Laxus was up on the balcony, glowering down at them.

He and Jura made uneasy eye contact. They didn't want to be at odds, but Laxus needed to lie and Jura needed to uncover the truth.

Lucy tensed, because he'd brought high-level enchanters.

She gestured led Jura to the office, giving guildmembers an uneasy glance.

The investigators fanned out in Yuri's direction, and Fairy Tail closed ranks so fast neither the guildmaster or his faithful partner ever had to say anything. Each of them found themselves talking to an adult who knew exactly how to run the game at hand: Mirajane charmed them with beer they had to stiffly deny, Lisanna started telling stories about _completely unrelated crimes_ she thought they might find interesting, and Bacchus Groh—a Fairy Tail transplant after the birth of his son Crash—played the part of disruptive drunk.

Yuri slipped out the back, assuming that was the right course of action, and went to find his sister.

In the office, Jura sat down knowing well he'd picked a fight by being there.

"Is there a reason you have soldiers in our guild home?" Lucy crossly asked.

Jura answered, "We all know why I'm here. A source we have inside of a dark guild says Bluenote Stinger was after someone in your guild. We found out about that about a week before we found him rotting on the side of a mountain. He was electrocuted. There's a short list of suspects."

Laxus leaned back in his chair, which emitted a loud screeching squeal. "Oh? You're going to give me shit for beating down one of the most wanted dark wizards in Fiore?"

"We don't think it was you. But we're certain it was someone in your guild. We heard Bluenote wanted something that is exclusively available in Fairy Tail."

Lucy answered, "He doesn't want anything now."

Jura said, "Guild gets into a scrape with a dark guild and somebody dies…not necessarily noteworthy. Bluenote Stinger is noteworthy, because he was in possession of something the Council has been looking for."

When it became clear he was there for Acnologia's lacrima, the Dreyars knew they were in for trouble. It was big enough magic it would be easily detected.

"We heard it's inside of one of your youngsters. The use of lightning…the only others in your guild are your youngest and oldest. Some other kind of magic was used on that mountain, something strange that we weren't able to identify," he answered.

Jura knew he'd become an enemy to them, coming to the guild and bringing their son into an investigation. Fairy Tail was always full of secrets, but in this era, the guild had mostly been quiet. The world of dark magic was only starting to rumble again, and it came as no surprise that when it did, Fairy Tail rumbled right back at it.

He placed a stamped court form on the desk. "I want to see Yuri Dreyar, Mavis Dreyar, Iggy Dragneel, and Sam Redfox."

The Magic Council already suspected one of their young dragons was hosting the lacrima, and Laxus felt his stomach start to turn to knots. He didn't know how to keep Sam from being detected, and he couldn't hide him from the Magic Council. He was sick and if they tried, the Council would have no qualms about initiating a manhunt.

Then they would find him, accuse him of colluding with Bluenote Stinger for the lacrima…There was no way they'd let it stay in his body, and when their removal seriously injured or killed him, they'd claim it was necessary.

Lucy wished Warren was in town so he could connect them all telepathically.

The Chairman of the Magic Council never attended interrogations, but Fairy Tail was sure to give them hell and they had not disappointed. He took a deep breath and said, "We know someone on that mountain lost an eye. Do you think it'll take long for us to find out who? Don't make this difficult."

"We both know you're going to get shit cooperation out of Fairy Tail, top to bottom. Have fun trying to get a bunch of teenagers to tell the truth. We don't have anything to hide, and we don't have anything to say," the guildmaster answered.

Lucy added a more serious threat. "Chairman, remember that the Magic Council has been reliant on our guild's assistance in policing the magic world for an entire generation. We fought dark wizards while the Council investigated and struggled against us. Bluenote Stinger was a mess your organization hasn't been able to clean up. We honestly have better things to do than start that cycle again."

Jura said, "I can't walk away from this until we have the lacrima secured."

And at that moment, they realized at the same time that he wasn't there to procure the lacrima to keep it out of the wrong hands. He was there to take it and put in some other wrong hands somewhere; it was going to be used. Weaponized.

They both knew Jura wasn't the type to pull that kind of nonsense, so that meant he was doing it for someone else.

"That's how it is," Lucy whispered.

Jura said, "Things are changing. Evil is rising."

"Yeah, like that's never happened before?" she answered in a tone that didn't leave any hint about the level of her indignation.

"My hands are tied," he answered.

Laxus was quiet for a minute and said, "Don't do this. You look under enough rocks and you're going to find a scorpion."

Jura didn't know what that meant, but he had orders, and there were reasons behind those orders. Under the guise of an investigation, the Council had moved in to poach the lacrima from Fairy Tail.

The Council investigators found all the kids had scattered once they dealt with distracting parents.

The found Iggy and Layla first and turned up nothing.

Jura felt the little Dreyar might have been involved in some way simply due to the lightning, but when he sat Mavis down at a table on the second floor of the guild, she sat in front of him and glared at him fearlessly.

"Do you want something?" she abruptly asked.

"I think you know what I want."

Mavis innocently replied, "Some hair, less wrinkles?"

"Were you there when Bluenote Stinger was killed?"

The blonde shook her head. "Never heard of him. Is there going to be a funeral or something?"

"Has your brother been in any major fights recently?" he asked.

After pretending to think really hard about it, she gave him this answer:

"Now that you mention it, he did."

Jura leaned in closer. "Tell me about it."

"Well, I don't know if you know this—maybe it's in your file—but Yuri is honestly kind of an idiot. He's really nice, but he's also pretty much just clueless. He forgot his anniversary with his girlfriend, and she got so mad at him. She didn't speak to him for a long time. I mean, how could anyone forget the anniversary of their first kiss? Or the anniversary of their first date? Or the anniversary of when they met? Or her birthday. I mean, Yuri just needs a lot of help.

"He also takes his shoes off when he first gets home and throws them everywhere. He's so uncouth! And his feet stink."

The chairman tapped his fingers on the table. "Are you mocking me?"

Mavis answered, "I'm twelve. If I am, you should probably just realize where you are in life right now and end it all."

"You can go," he said, waving her off.

Yuri was still looking for Layla as she went for a walk, spiked headphones blaring in her ears. She'd never admit it, but her dad's old playlists were actually pretty damn awesome. Like his scar. There were times she almost wondered if he might be cool.

She was suddenly snatched from an alley, and she felt familiar magic envelope her and relaxed.

It was Natsu, who looked out around the corner to make sure no one had seen.

Layla took her headphones off. "What was that for?"

He knelt and asked, "Are you really ready to be a grownup?"

"Wh-What?"

"Yes or no."

The Saint Wizard was essentially her father's lieutenant, a secondary source of authority within the guild. At any given time, either Laxus, Natsu, or Gildarts was within the city limits of Magnolia. Natsu's word carried almost as much weight as the guildmaster's did, but he rarely invoked it.

There were no secrets between Laxus and Lucy and Natsu when it came to the guild, not even the debacle that happened among the kids and Bluenote.

Layla was puzzled by this question. "Y-Yes? I think."

Natsu said, "The Magic Council is looking for someone missing and eye and someone with a dragon lacrima. They don't have eyes on you yet, they haven't gotten to Sam yet. Take Happy, and Sam, and hide."

"That guy? Yeah, right!" she said, although she felt a wave of fear that was almost sickening.

"They're going to try and take that lacrima out of him, and that might kill him, or hurt him way worse than you've ever been. And you? They're going to find out one of your eyes if fake and that makes you the _only_ person they can put on the mountain with Bluenote Stinger. You want to be dragged off, held for questioning? Maybe arrested? If they find the lacrima, it's going to hit the fan—we come from a different generation, and I don't think you want your parents to have to chose with going to war with the government or watching the government hurt you and Sam.

"There are lots and lots of consequences for Fairy Tail if this goes wrong, so I need you to stop thinking about how pissed off you are, and get Sam, and _hide_."

It had been two months, and she felt like life should have moved on already. The scar on her face had healed, leaving a nice mark, she was gradually getting used to having no depth perception, and she was looking forward to the future.

But it really wasn't over. Since she didn't see Sam often, she didn't have to acknowledge it, but she knew as long as the lacrima was in him, nothing was over.

"Okay. Whatever. Porlyuscia's old house is on next to the chasm that seeps magic in the East Forest. It'll be harder for them to find us there if they're using magic detection, right?"

"You're such a smart girl. Don't make any dumb moves because you're mad. What you do can affect everything that happens to everyone in the guild going forward."

Layla nodded in understanding, and then Natsu pulled her further into the shadows as Magic Council soldiers marched down the street.

"They're probably headed for Sam. Go."

Happy grabbed her by the shirt and rocketed straight upward, successfully avoiding detection from the passing soldiers. He flew straight to the Redfox house and then descended as quickly, dropping her right on the second floor window, which was cracked open to give some fresh air to the sick, feverish boy inside.

Layla pulled the window open and he jumped, and then he seemed afraid.

"Layla? What are you…?"

"We have to go, Sam. The authorities are looking for us."

There was commotion downstairs, the sound of Gajeel and Levy yelling.

Sam started to get out of bed, but he was so weak he could barely stand and he couldn't really use the arm that was now nearly completely covered in black scales.

There was a creak in the hallway, and Happy grabbed them both and snatched them out through the window, high into the air just a second before the soldiers flooded into the room in search of him.

Carrying two people was typically a bit much for Happy, but Layla was small and Sam had lost a lot of weight, so he was able to safely sneak them to the dusty little hut that served as an emergency safehouse for the guild. They'd never had to use it, but it was a relief to find there was already food, water, a few bunks, sheets, blankets, lacrima lights, and everything they needed to hide.

Happy left as soon as they were safe and returned fifteen minutes later with Yuri. From there, he returned to Natsu.

Meanwhile, Jura continued a witch hunt he didn't even want to be on.

He honestly felt relieved when the guild did exactly what one would expect.

"Yuri. Layla. Sam. All missing. I need you to produce them for questioning," he said when he returned to Laxus' office to find two cross parents watching his every move.

Laxus shrugged. "My son is turning sixteen. They've known each other since birth. There was some talk about going to Shirotsume Town to celebrate. He's legally old enough to drink now, so it's not the kind of birthday you celebrate with your parents."

Since the Council was watching them, he really had no idea what was going on outside, but the fact they'd all vanished into thin air meant they'd avoided the Council's initial sweep and might be somewhere safe.

It started raining, washing scents and magical signatures from the landscape, giving them further cover.

In the little hut, Sam sat on the edge of one of the bunks while Layla and Yuri checked to make sure they had all the supplies necessary while they talked about the danger they were in.

"You guys won't be in trouble if you tell them where I am," Sam said.

Yuri shook his head. "We're not going to do that. There's no reason for it."

Layla narrowed her eyes and said, "We're not sellouts. Do you know what they'll do to you? Stop being such an idiot, that's how we got into this mess."

Yuri, always the voice of reason, said, "So how are we going to get out? We can't hide forever. The Magic Council is the government. We can't lie forever, and hiding isn't going to last long. Even if we could run, Sam is sick. Wendy's been helping keep it from spreading faster, but how are we going to get her here if everyone else is being watched?"

Sam stood and said, "I can't do this. I started this with a mistake. I know you may not think it was an accident, or honestly, I don't know how you feel. But I never intended for anyone to get hurt." He looked up at Layla and added, "Especially not you. You've always been my best friend. I never wanted any of this. I can stop everything right now by telling the truth."

Yuri watched the interactions carefully; he'd always kept peace among the younger wizards. This debacle had been bigger than a typical squabble and everyone had been hurt as a result. He was slow to anger and quick to get over it, and he was a little cooler, like his father.

Layla had a wild temper like their mother, but she held onto stuff longer.

They were all really just still kids, and situations like this reminded them that they hadn't quite arrived, no matter how much they told themselves they had.

They had to figure out what they would do and their choice had the potential to impact the entire guild.

And their parents just had to trust them.

As a result of the Magic Council's inquest, nearly all the strongest members were detained and separated. Since the truth was only known by those who would never tell it, this was a fruitless process, but the authorities were convinced if all the adults were immobilized the kids would eventually mess up or try to move.

This meant Wendy was sitting in the guild when it was time for her to strengthen Sam's body as she'd been doing every day for two months.

Night wore on, and the teenagers spent most of the day staring at each other while rain poured outside. The roof had a small leak and the only sound through most of the silence was a steady, draining drip into a pot in the corner.

Sam started to get sicker fairly quickly without Wendy's usual intervention, and his fever climbed.

Yuri did his best, but he really didn't know what to do. He stripped Sam and put him in a bathtub full of water, and kept draining the water when it warmed up since he didn't have any ice.

Layla could feel the dark magic start to spread quickly.

She ignored Sam for the most part, even when Yuri was doing anything and everything to help him.

The sad, twisted thing for Yuri is that the storage cabinets were full of dried medicinal herbs. He just didn't know which ones to use, or how to prepare them, so he flipped through books and wiped off dusty bottles.

Layla, who was so smart and probably could have easily helped him make some kind of herbal remedy, just sat on the floor with her head leaning against the wall, headphones blaring.

He finally put a bottle of herbs down and approached her, pulling the headphones off.

"What?"

"Are you really this heartless? You're my sister, but you're being mean and terrible. Do you want Sam to die? Would that make you feel better? Would it grow your eye back or make you forget what happened?" he asked.

Layla stood and glared at him. "I've already done a good deed for him."

"He's guild family. Do you want him to die in this little hut with us? Or get caught by the authorities who might kill him anyway?" he asked.

Yuri and Layla bickered occasionally.

They didn't fight. Not ever, until right at that moment when indignation ignited on both sides. To Yuri, guild family was as important as blood family, and Layla wasn't ready to see it that way even though he needed her to help him—or at least try to help him.

Yuri had always been overly nice and mild with his sisters, so Layla was stunned to see him yell, to see him be angry, to see him demand she get over herself and at least make some kind of effort for the sake of the guild. Some part of him knew if they couldn't get over this hurdle, they weren't going to be okay. He felt like he wasn't getting anywhere, and hurtful things were being yelled, about each other, about Sam, about everything that had taken place.

He didn't understand his sister's complicated feelings. Sometimes, he didn't even really understand his own, and his mother told him that was okay and that it would get better as they finished growing up.

He didn't even remember what it was exactly that he said, but suddenly, it was like he pulled the right string and she unraveled. Layla started crying hysterically and said she was scared and hurt and angry, and then she cried some more but somewhere through those mostly unintelligible sobs that what she really wanted was for things to be like they used to be.

"We have to help him or we don't have a way back, Layla," he whispered as he squeezed her.

She wiped her face and nodded. "Okay. What do we do?"

"I don't know."

"Me neither…"

She went to the tiny bathroom where Sam was unconscious in the bathtub, head resting on the back of the porcelain tub.

Layla reached out to touch the scales on his arm, and then pulled her arm back. The black magic had spread all the way from his hand to his shoulder. She could sense how it had grown, shooting root-like extensions from the lacrima up through his arm and into his shoulder.

"He can't move this hand at all, can he?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"So, if the magic spreads and paralyzes his muscles…the heart is a muscle too. Yuri…"

Yuri worriedly nodded. "We have to do something, Layla. We can't let this happen. We'll probably get caught if we try to contact the guild or our parents."

The blonde looked down and admitted, "I want Mom and Dad."

"Me too."

Her head suddenly snapped up and she said, "Get him out of the water. I have an idea."

Layla went into the main room of the hut and made a ridiculous amount of noise as Yuri pulled Sam out of the tub and halfway dried him off before wrestling his boxers back on. He was essentially dead weight, and seemed completely limp and unconscious except for a murmur that escaped his lips.

Yuri put him back on the bed and found Layla had a book open and a pot on the stove. The smell of herbs became thick in the air.

"What are we going to do? If we cut his arm off…"

Layla said, "The roots are already into his chest. If we cut the whole arm off, I don't know how we'd stop the bleeding. I mean, I don't even know how we'd do it. I think it would take a lot to get it off. I only found a little scalpel. If I use light magic, I think I can cut out where it's spread…maybe get it out without removing the arm."

Yuri looked over at the book and saw she was preparing a basic numbing paste.

"I can sense where it is…so I'm going to cut and blast it out, and you're going to burn it closed as we work."

He nodded. "I can't believe any of this is happening."

They cleaned his arm and chest and neck, and put towels under him and nearby.

Yuri held Sam on his side when she made the first cut right under his armpit. Bloode oozed instantly as the knife carved a sure path, deep until something black started to flow from the wound instead.

Sam's eyes opened wide, and Yuri held him still when he gasped at the pain. Numbing paste or no, he felt the knife's cut. "Wh-What…"

"Just be still. We have to. It'll be okay."

Layla's hand pressed against the wound, and he felt the painful, terrible sear of her light magic into the wound. Where it burned the dark away, the pain was like nothing he could even begin to imagine. She was digging, cutting, but he could feel the magic was just a little weaker.

Yuri's mouth gaped open when she pulled the tips of a root-like growth from the wound. "A root…"

She hit a vein and blood spurted from the wound. "Burn it."

Sam growled through clenched teeth when Yuri seared it closed.

"I'm sorry…" he cried.

"Sam, you don't have to apologize anymore. It's over. At least, it'll be over when this thing is out of you."

She'd spent two months wishing disaster would befall him for the trouble he'd caused her, but now she was the one holding the scalpel and she was the one cutting him. There was no satisfaction in it; it was sad and she realized she didn't really want anyone to suffer.

Bluenote hadn't done Sam any favors. For all practical purposes, he'd wrecked Sam's life as much as hers, if not more so.

And when she was physically in the room with him, forced to confront him and hear how ready he was to fall on the sword to protect them, she couldn't reconcile her anger with the boy she'd known all her life.

Cutting Sam up slowly was probably more physically painful than anything she'd experienced, and the longer it went on, the more the idea that he didn't deserve what happened to him echoed in her mind.

XXX

At the guild, the Magic Council had disrupted life to an extreme that tempers were on edge.

Nobody wanted Fairy Tail to fight the Magic Council. Jura had no doubts that the guild would best them, probably easily. All the titans were home, and they were all infuriated that the Council was trying to turn Magnolia upside down looking for three teenagers.

They didn't let any of them talk to each other, and of the Dreyars, Anna and Mavis were the only ones who wasn't under suspicion or observation, so they were at home with the baby and had enough sense to know to stay put.

By the time the teens had been gone for forty-eight hours, none of their parents really knew where they were. Natsu and Happy were the only ones who knew where they'd gone, and Jura hadn't let him speak to the Dreyars or the Redfoxes.

Jura was given a folder by one of the investigators, and he looked through it in a chair across the desk. Lucy was sitting in her husband's chair, and he was pacing the floor.

"Three days before we found Bluenote Stinger's body, two of your guildmembers were hospitalized in Shirotsume Town. One of them missing an eye…but I don't suppose I have to tell you that," he said.

There was another knock on the door immediately thereafter, and after a whisper, Jura excused himself from them.

Laxus' delicate ears picked up on the whisper. "They have Yuri."

"Oh no…" Lucy whispered.

Jura went down to the guild basement where they'd taken Yuri after he showed up, apparently on his own. The boy looked tired, like he hadn't slept in a lifetime, and he looked pissed. According to all the reports and everything written in his file, Yuri was a nice and perfectly-mannered boy. Gentle. Sweet. Loyal.

He assumed the people who wrote those things would revise them immediately if they could see him in his current state of agitation.

There was a little wooden table, and Yuri sat down and crossed his arms. He had something closed in his fist.

"We've been looking for you in connection with the Death of Bluenote Stinger. You and your sister. Sam Redfox is missing as well."

Yuri looked up and answered, "Can you please just shut up? When adults involve kids in their problems, we stop being kids. We've had to make all these decisions and go through all this stuff. Not just from our enemies but now from the authorities too."

In a fairly short span of time, he'd been kidnapped, he'd watched a man nearly beat his sister to death and cut her eye out, he'd killed that man, then come home to all the fallout where he had to get over himself and keep it a secret. Then the authorities had come after them and the only way to protect the guild was to risk everything to save Sam who put them all at risk from the start. This ended with him and Layla cutting, burning, and purifying him as he laid in the bed and cried because it was just that ridiculously painful.

He'd had to make too many hard choices to still feel at all like a kid.

He was an adult, and he was angry.

"Have I made an enemy?" Jura asked.

"More than one."

Jura leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "You can't resist the Magic Council, Yuri. I've heard you're a good kid. I need to know about Bluenote Stinger. You and your sister were badly injured at the time he died. Your sister lost an eye, did she not?"

"I don't really know anything about him. Layla and I were going on a job. He kidnapped us, hurt us, made us fight him. There was an explosion. I found a lacrima on the ground and I picked it up."

"Our sources say Sam Redfox divulged sensitive information about your guild and was given the lacrima as payment."

Yuri continued his unyielding glare. "I'm assuming the person who told you that was an ally of theirs? Bad guys lie. They cheat. They steal. I don't understand why the Magic Council has this presence at Fairy Tail and no presence where it matters."

"People have to choose their battles."

"And you chose to fight a bunch of kids? This is bullshit. All of this," he said, raising his voice a little.

Jura said, "So Sam wasn't involved."

"No."

"Where's the lacrima? If you hand it over, all of this ends. I'm sure you want this to end, right? The Magic Council can't leave an artifact like that in play," he said.

Yuri said, "So you're here to take the lacrima and make sure no one misuses it, and not because you want to use it for something else?"

 _That_ had been Layla's suggestion. Magic power was hard to come by and lacrima were one of the few ways to gain an unmerited power-up. She believed they didn't really care at all about the details of what happened, only the source of power that nearly killed Sam.

"Right. Its for the good of Fiore."

Yuri opened his fist, and pushed a small magic pouch across the table. "For Fiore then."

There was a creak at the top of the stairs, and Jura looked up at Laxus and Lucy. "You can come down, I suppose. Don't interfere."

Laxus could smell Acnologia, so he knew what was in the pouch.

Jura said, "Tell me what happened again."

Yuri crossed his arms. "I wanted to see my girlfriend. I took a job, grabbed Layla, and Bluenote Stinger kidnapped us. He was mad about something my great-grandfather did. I don't know…revenge from some old thing. Maybe he had a grudge. We fought, he beat the shit out of us, and we won. There was an explosion during the fight, and when it ended, I found the lacrima. I've had it. I haven't used it. I didn't know what it was. I didn't even know it was important until you guys came looking for it."

"Did you know where this lacrima came from?" Jura asked.

"No," the boy's answer was flat and cold with determination.

"The story about Sam Redfox?"

"He wasn't involved at all and doesn't know anything about it."

It was surreal for Laxus and Lucy as they sat on the stairs and watched their son lie through his teeth with that wickedly angry expression on his face. They were worried about Sam, and had no idea how they'd gotten the lacrima out.

They were also worried about what was going to happen when the lacrima was handed over, but for now, the immediate problem was solved, and that was good enough.

Jura asked, "Where are Sam Redfox and your sister?"

"Ask anybody. They've been hot for each other since they were two. Sometimes they sneak off and lie to the parents. We're teenagers, remember? I do the same kind of thing."

Jura didn't see any value in continuing further, since when he did find them, they'd probably just keep lying. Whatever happened would remain a mystery to him, and if they had the lacrima, those who had ordered him to engage Fairy Tail had no other interest in Bluenote or Fairy Tail.

He squeezed the pouch, and realized there was no big, round marble-feeling although he was sure the dark magic was present.

Jura pulled the pouch open and, afraid to touch the lacrima directly, poured the pouch out on the table. Dozens of broken shards of the lacrima fell on the table, and he looked up at the boy.

"You broke it…"

Now broken, the pieces would lose all their power in mere days. Lacrima _were_ fragile, and this particular one had probably been handled with great care. Still, it probably took a decent amount of magic to cause it to shatter.

"Courtesy of my one-eyed sister. We broke it as soon as we found it. We could tell it was evil, and we don't want it to fall into the wrong hands," Yuri answered.

Since Jura hadn't wanted to go on this insane misadventure to shake up the guild and take the lacrima in first place, he was incredibly pleased and immeasurably impressed that it ended like this. He was so relieved, and grateful for how slippery, conniving, and cohesive Fairy Tail really was. Even across generations, there was no penetrating the solidarity or love they felt for one another.

The general who was really behind this had no reason to press the guild, and he wasn't getting the lacrima.

Jura smirked a little and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "You were ambushed by an old enemy of the guild, who died in the fight that ensued. The first turned up an evil artifact, which you destroyed. Nothing illegal or even particularly noteworthy about that. The lacrima has been destroyed. The investigation can be closed."

And just like that, it was over.

He dismissed all the guards so he was alone in the basement with the Dreyars. "I'm certain everything I was told tonight is a lie. The object of this investigation was the lacrima. The person who wanted it is General Pilar. He's the highest-ranking member of the military and the Queen's closest advisor on such matters. Be careful. He's got the most dangerous kind of influence a person can have."

When he went upstairs and left, Lucy asked, "Yuri, where are Sam and Layla?! Is everyone okay? How'd you get the lacrima out of Sam?"

"Layla was able to save him with her magic, Mom."

"And she did?!"

Yuri nodded. "They're okay. I think we're all just so tired of getting hurt. Layla and I decided that we really just wanted our parents. It's hard without you."

Both of his parents hugged him at once.

"I'm okay now, really!"

Lucy put her hand on his face. "My sweet Thunder Baby…you've grown up to be so big and strong. Happy Birthday, I swear I'll bake you a cake when we get you and Layla home."

"Mom, you guys look so tired. I'm tired."

In the hut, Sam awoke from an eight-week fever and felt like himself for the first time since his ill-fated meeting with Bluenote Stinger. His arm hurt, and when he looked at it, he had a system of deep cuts, burns, and amateur stitch-work in the shape of a root system that started at his hand. He could move his arm again, even if it hurt.

And then he realized that in that tiny little bunk, Layla was sound asleep on the other side of him, loosely holding a photo she'd been carrying since the day she carved up her own face. It was a picture of them taking a nap together when they were toddlers.

He missed her scent, and her face, and her _everything_.

Gently, he settled down next to her, not wanting to disturb her.

She opened her eyes and whispered, "Hi."

"Hi. Thank you. You saved me. After everything. The person I hurt was the only one who had the right magic to save me."

Layla smiled. "Sam, I don't want to talk about what happened anymore. You don't have to say you're sorry anymore. I had to lose my eye. I don't have to lose my friend. I want to drink sodas with you after school when fall comes. I want you to go swimming at the lake and go on jobs and live my life with everyone in it who should be in it."

"Me too. I don't have brothers or sisters. You're really my best friend. It sucked without you. A lot."

"My life sucked too. I've been confiding in Lex, and that little rascal never listens to me."

Since she was on his good side, she moved his un-maimed arm and rested her head on his shoulder. He was still only in his boxers and there were towels covered in blood and black ooze off in a corner, but life was somehow better than he could remember it being when she snuggled up and smiled at him.

During his downtime, he'd had countless opportunities to look back on their time together and reflect on the things his father said and the things her father said. He'd stopped caring whether or not he was ever the strongest wizard. If he could protect his guildmates and his precious little blonde friend, that was enough.

They both felt like a huge weight had been lifted from them, guilt from one and anger from the other.

"I'm going to have a cool scar," he said.

"Scars are pretty cool, if you think about."

Sam tilted his head to smell her hair. "They're a record of something we survived."

Layla looked up at him. "Stop sniffing me. Dragons are so weird and gross."

"You smell good. I missed it. I'm glad you feel better now that you've stabbed me and cut me up. You couldn't have just said it if that's all you wanted."

She rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you are ruining our special moment. Don't piss me off."

"I won't, you might get the knife again!"

It was something her mother said to her:

Lucy told her that once she allowed herself to be around Sam, their bond would help drive away the lingering doubts she had about him. As long as they were separated, it was easy to be angry and hateful, but now in close quarters, she could see Sam as Sam—maybe an idiot sometimes, but after several consecutive rounds of emotional trauma and targeting from enemies outside the guild, she knew Sam's heart was mostly innocent. Just like she was mostly innocent.

Up close, she remembered how handsome he was to her, with his thick mane of crazy black hair and his big brown eyes. He was bigger than Iggy, and he looked a little more like a man.

"You've gotten skinny. I can bake you a cake if you want."

"I definitely want."

She sat up. "I'll even put little nuts and bolts on it."

Sam said, "I'm so happy and so tired and so glad it's all finally over. Any chance you want to be my girlfriend someday?"

"I think we're just supposed to be friends, Sam. Like my mom and Natsu. I feel like I want to love somebody else, and I don't know who. But I need my best friend, and that's you."

The blow didn't really hurt when he thought about it. He was happy just to be there near her, and to know he had his friend back. "I guess it would be good not to make it complicated."

"Right."

That said, her words and her actions didn't seem to match, and he didn't know what that meant.

There was a knock on the door and Gajeel and Levy Redfox came in. "Hey kids."

When Gajeel saw the Dreyar girl snuggled up to his half naked son, he was glad he and not Laxus had come to collect them from the safe house. It was the kind of thing Laxus misinterpreted easily. Two teenagers in a bed? What was suspicious about that?

They were so happy to see their son was all right as the past two months of their lives had been a string of worry, disappointment, and anxiety. His arm was a mess, but his eyes were clear and bright and _happy_.

"C'mon. It's safe to go home."

"It's safe?" Sam asked.

"You look like you're perfectly comfortable right there, but nobody has slept in two days," Levy said, a bit irritated her son apparently preferred where he was to going home.

Once all the Dreyar kids were home, bathed, fed, and asleep, their parents finally retired.

Laxus heard his wife crying in the shower as he stripped his own clothes off. "Babe, it's going to be okay. I don't like them being in danger any more than you do."

"I hate it, Honey. I just want them to be here with me and be safe," she sniffed.

He climbed into the shower with her. "They're wizards. They didn't pick the safe, easy way to live, but neither did we. We had terrible things that made us strong. Look at them now. I'm glad the other kids were insulated from the trouble, but look at where Yuri and Layla and Sam are now. They're growing. They're working together. We taught them well. They know what to do and they'll do it."

She nodded and then turned and embraced him under the water. "They're good kids. I think. I don't know if they're kids anymore."

"Yuri will be a kid to me when he's thirty."

"He's over halfway there, you know."

Lucy just stood there under the water and hugged him, head on his chest as he washed her hair. This considered this one of the highest forms of affection and she pitied any woman who wasn't so lucky. She could when he'd do it for her when they're older kids were babies and she hadn't had much sleep, or just to make her feel special.

When they were drying off, they had a calmer conversation.

Lex started crying right after Lucy pulled on her nightgown, so the two parents went to check up on him. He'd been asleep when they got home, and they definitely wanted to get a little time in with him. According to the twins, he'd become aware of the absence of his parents spend much of his day screaming like 'an unhappy, rabid banshee' as Mavis described it.

Anna appeared in the door. "We'll take care of him. You guys are really tired."

Laxus gave her a hug and kissed her. "You and Mavis are good girls. Sometimes I'm amazed none of you turned out bad. We owe you and Mavis big time. You guys want anything?"

"We're just glad everyone is okay. But I have something I need to tell you, Dad. Mom. About me and Iggy."

Her parents looked at each other and then at her.

"I know Iggy and I weren't supposed to kiss. We've been doing it anyway. I can't lie anymore!"

 _Technically_ , she hadn't lied at all because Laxus had never asked her if she was kissing him.

Lucy knew about it but hadn't told Laxus since he was so overprotective.

Laxus started laughing and took the baby from Lucy. He kissed Lex's hair and said, "Kid, Iggy has traces of glimmer lip gloss smeared around his mouth at least twice a week. I've known you've been sneaking around and kissing that rascal every chance you get. I let Iggy live because he's all right. It's okay. Go to bed. Lex can come with us."

XXX

It was two days before they pulled a birthday party together for Yuri together in the backyard of the Dreyar house. The sun was out, it was hot, and the area around their pool filled up with kids. Guild kids, school friends, kids from the neighborhood, along with guild members.

One of Lucy's gifts to her son was to arrange for Lilia to be there, which made him happy, especially when she came out to the pool in a teeny, tiny bikini. It was a little hard for her as a mother to realize that being with another woman made him happiest, and even weirder to watch him as he related to her in a more adult way.

It was fun to watch her hit him in the face with a beach ball and yell at him for whatever it was he whispered in her ear.

With a little help from Wendy, Sam's homemade hack job was well enough that he was able to join in the fun, and parents looked on as Layla dunked him under the water with an excited squeal and he repaid the favor.

There was food and cake and everyone was laughing.

Yuri took Lex in the water and let him flail around in the water and giggle, which won him favor back with his girlfriend. The baby spent the rest of his pre-nap time covered in sunblock in a hat and sunglasses in his baby chair, watching the older kids play.

Gray made a really tall diving board from ice and the more daring kids took a turn climbing it and jumping to cheers. Mavis was the first to go, and only because she could turn into lightning and teleport around.

After the tense times they'd endured, it was such a relief to everyone to have everyone together and happy for the first time in so long. People were thrown into the pool, there were dunkings, there was horseplay, there were games, there was food and a constant chorus of excited laughter and glee that was much-needed.

Iggy had a 'teenage boy moment' and gave Anna a nice shove into the pool, and then stood on the edge laughing until he realized she was holding a golden key in her hand.

"Wait wait wait, no, I'm sorry! Let's talk about this! Have mercy on me!" the white-haired boy pled.

"You don't deserve mercy, Iggy Dragneel!" she answered.

The key went down and when Aquarius appeared, she threw everyone out of the pool and left.

They all went immediately back into the water and the chaos continued until the sun was going down.

Kids and parents and guildmates alike went home after over-sunning, over-eating, laughing too hard, and on a sugar-rush crash that promised a good night's sleep.

Yuri grabbed a set of sheets from the cabinet and was about to go make the bed in the guest bedroom for Lilia when he ran into his mother in the hallway. "Lilia can sleep in the guest bedroom, right?"

Lucy shrugged. "You sleep in her bed when you're over there, right?"

"Yeah."

"Look, you're just making more laundry for me. If she just stays with you, I have half as many sheets to pour profuse amounts of bleach on in the morning," his mother answered.

"Mom, ew."

"Meet me and your dad downstairs tonight, okay? After Lilia is asleep."

This seemed a little mysterious, but after he showered and laid in the bed next to his girlfriend and talked about nothing and everything, she fell asleep and he cracked open the door to his room and found the house quiet and dark.

The only light was from the living room downstairs, where a couple of lamps were lit.

They were waiting for him, talking quietly.

He sat down with them and his father rose from the couch and went in the kitchen, returning with three ice-cold bottles of beer.

Lucy said, "Becoming legally old enough to drink is a big deal. We meant to talk to you about it, but a lot of stuff happened. So, how about sharing your first drink with your parents?"

Three bottle caps popped and they clinked their bottles together. "To growing up," she said.

Yuri took a sip and looked from one parent to another. "My parents are pretty cool."

"You're a good kid, but I told your mom there's no way this is your first drink. You've probably been shitfaced drunk at least once and we just don't know about it," his father said.

Lucy growled, "Not my son."

Yuri took a few more gulps and said, "Oh, I thought you guys were trying to teach me something. I am here to settle a bet."

His mother said, "Please tell your father I didn't raise an uncouth party animal who engaged in underage drinking."

This was typical of his parents as their playful bicker was practically the soundtrack of his childhood. His mother idealized him, and his father had a rougher, more flawed vision of his son. He was actually somewhere in the middle most of the time.

"I've been drunk. It was an accident."

His mother asked, "How do you accidentally get drunk?"

Yuri said, "I was in Shirotsume Town. Sting was out of town. I got really thirsty and went downstairs and there was this pitcher of fruity stuff on the refrigerator. We drank a lot of it before we realized it was alcoholic."

Lucy sighed. "I feel like I should win since he didn't do it knowingly."

"Like hell you should. I win."

"What did you guys bet anyway?" Yuri asked.

"Don't ask, and we won't tell you, and everyone will be happier," his mother replied.

Drinking beer with his mom and dad actually was one of the coolest things he could imagine.

They talked to him for a long time, about growing up, about drinking, about dating, about how proud they were of him, about the guild, about everything they'd been through lately. It was nice to have them both together and he needed the reinforcement after being bent out of shape by the Magic Council.

Both parents and their sixteen-year-old son felt a sense of serenity and contentment as they headed to bed that night, but morning brought another cause for concern.

Awakened early by their youngest son, they came downstairs and started working on breakfast. Coffee was put on, Laxus went outside and got the newspaper, and then were gathering ingredients for breakfast from the cabinets when Lucy caught a glimpse of the cover story through the corner of her eye.

She turned and picked up the paper.

"Jura said 'Pilar,' right?"

"Right."

Lucy turned the newspaper around. "He married Queen Hisui. His first act in office was to remove Jura Nekkis as Chairman of the Magic Council."

Her husband worriedly mumbled, "Damn…"

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	52. The Games Part 1

The Dreyars on a train:

Terrible!

The trip to the Junior Grand Magic Games was almost indescribably unpleasant to those who didn't have dragon blood because those who did were simply too difficult to tolerate. This went from the youngest to the oldest.

Lucy did find it cute that Mavis just laid in her lap and groaned most of the way there since she didn't get snuggles in often with her youngest little girl. As tough as she was, the nausea of riding on a train was enough to make her curl up with her head in her mother's lap and groan for Mama.

Laxus meanwhile leaned his head back, one eye cracked open as he watched Iggy lay with his head on Anna's shoulder, looking like he'd puke at any minute. And then he did, and although Anna was very forgiving, she also didn't speak to or look at Iggy for the rest of the trip.

Sam and Layla were in the compartment immediately next to theirs and were noisy as always. Every few minutes they'd her a thud and a retaliatory complaint like, "Get off me, you big metal ogre!" Or, "I'll leave dents in you if you puke on me!"

Yuri was sleeping off his nausea, as always.

This all ended with Anna and Layla by themselves in the dining car delighting in their lack of dragon genes. There were times they reveled in their immunity to motion sickness, like when they rode bicycles, sometimes around their dragon siblings, and told them how fun it was.

Lucy watched everything unfold and smiled.

She wanted to enjoy this little peace and this burst of excitement while it lasted, because the road forward was going to be difficult for her.

Lucy wanted her husband to comfort her, but he didn't know she needed it because she hadn't told him.

It could wait.

For now, she was going to enjoy her baby son's near-constant giggling and her older kids' determination and courage to face the future and show the world what they were made of. They were growing up strong, and she wanted them to be at their very best.

They arrived in Crocus, settled into the hotel.

Each team had its own suite, and all the teams were in the same hotel, along with chaperones in separate rooms nearby, because everyone knew that many teenagers in one place was a terrible idea. Laxus and Lucy were Fairy Tail's chaperones, and the kids had all been lectured thoroughly not to go into the city without permission. They got an extra layer of threats from their guildmaster because he wanted to keep them all close in the wake of what happened with the new king and the Magic Council.

They might not have understood the world fully, but the older generation knew there would be some kind of consequence for their defiance.

Once they settled in, the kids didn't attempt to wander too much. With all of them in one place, all the trouble they might normally be getting in was so close.

Yuri brought Lilia up to his team's room, Sam and Layla were seen bickering in the hotel's garden, and Anna and Iggy went down to the pool where Mavis was seen attempting to drown a certain green-haired boy in the pool.

Business as usual, at least, as far as Laxus was concerned.

He wagged Lex around on one hip all afternoon as he made the rounds. Fights were picked, contestants were reminded they couldn't fight (there was, strangely, no rule against drowning a willing victim, as Mavis pointed out), and he left Lucy alone.

They'd been together for long enough that there was no way she could pretend everything was okay. Over the years that he'd loved her, he'd learned to pay close attention to the small things, because Lucy was the grin-and-bear-it type. If he didn't make an effort, she'd go through hell and never tell anyone—like she was now.

But it was marriage, and sometimes things happened as they lived their lives. Getting older, raising kids, working hard, trying to support a guild…sometimes they went through little things or even big things. He didn't know the nature of her struggle, but he was aware that it was there and that she didn't want to deal with it until they got home.

He respected her in that and did his best to keep their baby from wearing her down too much. Being raised in a house with three older sisters, Lex was a bit of a baby brat.

He happened to be in watcher mode when Petri Nekkis and Layla met for the first time when she came by the pool.

He was tall, the same height as Laxus, and at seventeen, looked more or less grown. He had a full head of dark brown hair and honey-colored eyes that accentuated his tanned skin and exotic features. And when he met Layla, they stared at one another in a dumbstruck daze for what felt like an eternity.

Petri's reputation was far from spotless. He was known for being wild, reckless, and down for a little more fun and danger than he should have been. Charismatic, he flashed a big bright grin at her and leaned over her.

She felt nervous for a minute and looked down, and then found herself a little hypnotized by the line of hair that started below his belly button and disappeared into his trunks.

He did the same, looking over her little curves in the white two-piece bathing suit her father hated.

"Oh my God, you're so pretty," he finally said.

And then he jerked and exclaimed, "Ow…something just shocked me!"

The blonde's state of mind shifted in an instant and she turned and gave her father the worst glare she had in her inventory of dirty looks.

"Petri Nekkis."

"Layla Dreyar."

She stuck her hand out, and another jolt of electricity shocked him.

Then she turned. "Daddy, stop it!"

Laxus feigned innocence, as if he didn't know why his daughter was angry. His expression suggested he was only an innocent bystander, and that some other person was delivering carefully controlled electrical shocks to the seventeen-year-old boy currently chatting up his teenage daughter.

Petri laughed. "You want to get a snack across the street? Or maybe somewhere your dad can't electrocute me."

"Yes!" she squealed, "let me just tell him where I'm going. You know, dad…guildmaster…"

Laxus was sitting in a chair next to the pool, with Lex on his lap.

"Daddy!"

"She-Child."

"We're going to go grab something across the street."

Laxus looked at Petri and then at her. "Layla, that's not a boy. That is a grown-ass man. He's bigger than I am, hairy as hell, and has so much testosterone I feel like I'm going to go through puberty again just from smelling him."

"He's only seventeen, Dad. Grow up."

"You know what's between sixteen and forty-two? Seventeen. I was his age once."

His daughter rolled her eyes. "…and all you cared about was fighting and sex. Yeah, you were a real Neanderthal. Doesn't mean everyone else is. Besides, I like at least one of those things."

"Don't test me, little girl, chaining you in the basement is not an idle threat. I actually have a chain, and in my mind, I have it all planned out," he threatened.

Layla gave him a dismissive shrug. "Do you want me to die a virgin, Dad?"

"That's a trick question. I don't want you to die or have sex—is that really too much to ask?"

"Okay, Dad. Petri and I are going to go eat fries and drink soda across the street. I'll make sure he keeps his testosterone to himself, and will return with my hymen before curfew."

Laxus assumed they'd go upstairs and change, but instead he saw his daughter put on the boy's t-shirt, which more than covered her, and he remained shirtless.

And then he had the most ingenious idea.

"Wait."

He approached them and said, "Why don't you guys take Lex with you? Your mom is taking a nap, and I have some business to take care of."

Petri didn't mind anyway, and when the baby went from Laxus to his dismayed and infuriated daughter, he pointed and said, "Hey, little dude!" He drew his finger in and poked Lex on the tummy, which caused him to giggle. "Oh, he's laughing. Cool!"

Laxus said, "He likes it when people make stupid faces at him. He doesn't know that's just how you look. Try not to be offended."

"Daddy!"

Laxus gave Petri the diaper bag and a little cash. "Snacks on me."

Layla was so mad her cheeks were red, but her father knew she wasn't about to show her explosive volcano of a temper in front of the boy. Petri seemed to think it was all good and fun, Lex was pleased to be with his sister, and Laxus was fairly sure carrying a five-month-old baby around would really just ensure they didn't have too much fun.

Situations like this made him appreciate Iggy, because Iggy just didn't rock the boat. He was a nice kid, and even though he'd broken the no-kissing rule, he conducted a strictly calm and drama-free relationship with Anna. They didn't fight, and when she confused or annoyed him, he mostly just tolerated it.

He wasn't even going to spend time thinking about Baby Orga, who either liked the abuse from his youngest or was willing to tolerate it in order to win her affections. Either way, when he crawled out of the pool, gapsing for air, Mavis did the same and stood over him.

"Do you like me yet?" he panted.

Then she pushed him back into the water with her foot and started to walk away.

Laxus looked down at his baby son and whispered, "If you were a girl, you'd be in an orphanage right now."

Mavis turned on her foot and gave her a look akin to the one Layla had just been giving him, and he added, "Your sister has really good hearing. Be careful."

When Orga emerged from the water again, he sat on the edge next to where Laxus was sitting and panted in exhaustion. He looked around at his surroundings, and realized he was right next to the father of the object of his affections.

"Hey, how come she doesn't like me yet?" he abruptly asked.

Laxus' brow rose in question. "Oh? Hello, nice to meet you, well, and you? And hell will freeze over before I help you."

The thirteen-year-old groaned and stood, then flopped down in the chair next to him. "How come? I'm a great guy!" he exclaimed as he pointed to himself.

"One, I'm the dad. We're natural enemies. And two, I think you're an idiot. The only reason I haven't zapped you yet is because Mavis does it for me," he answered.

Orga was exasperated and looked around for some other topic to discuss with the older wizard. "You had a baby earlier right?"

"It got noisy so I sold it."

"You have a lot of kids, huh?"

"You really are kind of annoying."

Laxus really had no idea why Orga was lingering there, fidgety as hell and very bothered by his lack of success.

Orga asked, "I'd be really nice. I'm a gentleman. I make good grades in school. I've never liked any other girls. I'd take really good care of her."

Laxus wished he could find whoever decided to keep all the kids in the same hotel and ask them why they thought that was a good idea. As it was, he was at the epicenter of the irritation because of the thirty competitors, only five were girls and three were his daughters. The ratio of teenage boys to his daughters was terrible and he was already sulking about it.

"Look, I think you're not a bad kid. You're annoying and weird. Mavis isn't ready for a boyfriend."

"How do you know?" the boy asked.

He answered, "She beats up on you and tells you to drop dead every time you run into her."

"Oh. But someday she'll like me, right?"

Laxus shrugged. "Who knows?"

"You want to hang?"

"Are you serious?"

Laxus spent the next four hours with Baby Orga, who was nursing some abandonment issues. His father had been on a job for almost two months, and he'd never had a mom, so he was just kind of floating. He wanted to give the kid a lot of shit over Mavis, but he realized he was lonely and in need of a companion. The other wizards his age at Sabertooth and his teammates were Lilia (overly attached to Yuri), Max Cheney (a loner), and the as-yet unseen, unsociable offspring of Minerva and Rufus.

Sting eventually gathered up all his wizards for dinner and bed, and as Laxus did the same, he realized that his son was missing.

Layla came in, with Lex, pissed off and not even willing to consider speaking to him, and once all the others were accounted for, he ventured out to follow his son's scent.

Yuri was usually a reasonably obedient son and guildmember, so it was unlike him to break a simple rule like 'Don't leave the hotel without permissions.' But he had, and he'd gone alone.

Laxus followed him one block down the street, and found him staring listlessly at pregnancy tests at a drugstore. Yuri seemed absolutely blank, perhaps terrified, and confused.

The sixteen-year-old looked up at his father and nervously stammered, "S-Sorry for not telling you where I was going."

As a father, he didn't even know what to think or feel about the idea his son even needed a pregnancy test. He'd experienced a scare as a teenager, and 'scare' was really a massive understatement for how it actually felt to be young and in that particular position.

There was a more emotional and upset response, wherein he wanted to ask his son how he could be so careless, so irresponsible, and so foolish to even be in that position, but that wouldn't help anyone. Besides, he knew in his heart that his son wasn't intentionally reckless with such things as he knew exactly how much time, effort, and exhaustion went into raising a baby. Yuri had plans, and this wasn't part of any plan.

Laxus approached and stood next to him. "You okay?"

"Not really."

"What happened?"

Yuri nervously answered, "It broke. And now all this time later…"

Laxus took 'it' to refer to a broken condom, which was certainly a great misfortune. If it happened on the wrong night at the wrong time of the month, it was improbable but still possible.

He reached out and picked out one of the boxes for his son, and handed it to him.

Yuri looked down at the box. "I don't think I can do this, Dad."

"You'll be okay."

He gave Yuri a pat on the back and gently pushed him toward the checkout, then purchased the test and walked with his son along the street away from the hotel. They walked in silence for a long time, and then came to a park where there was a bench.

Laxus gestured, and the sat together. Both crossed their arms, looking like younger and older versions of one another.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked.

Yuri crossed his arms. "You're not going to tell Mom, are you?"

"Your mother has something on her mind. If Lilia's pregnant, there's no getting around it. We'll need to tell her father, and she'll have to drop out of the competition. You don't want your pregnant girlfriend fighting in a game…she could get hurt, lose the baby. If the test is negative, I'll let you tell Mom when you're ready. If we tell her now, that vein on her eye that twitches when she gets agitated is going to pop."

"Ugh, her dad is going to kill me if..."

Laxus could sympathize easily as he had daughters too, and one of his greatest fears was one of them becoming pregnant at too early an age. Of course Sting was worried about Yuri doing the same. No father wanted to see their daughter have what was left of 'growing up' taken away all at once.

"Sting will be okay. Mom will be okay. I'll be okay. You and Lilia are the ones in trouble here, and it's not with us."

Yuri seemed absolutely despondent as he thought about his future. "What if she is? What happens then? What if we just decide not to have it? If we, you know."

Laxus was immediately uncomfortable at the idea and answered, "Son, if you can't say the word 'abortion' you don't have the kind of self-determination it takes to go down that road. Her either."

"What if we have it then? She lives in a different place. We have a year of school left. I want for both of us to finish, but I don't see how we can. Maybe we could get a place, and I could quit and go on jobs all the time. She could finish. Maybe we can get married…because of how things happened with her, she doesn't want to have a baby until she's married, but all this is just a mess, Dad. I don't even know what do think or do," his son answered.

His father took a deep breath and put his arm around his son. "It'll be okay."

"How?! How is this okay, Dad?!" he indignantly asked.

"First, let me remind you that you did this to yourselves. All involved parents made it clear we thought you were a little young to be having a sexual relationship, but you decided to do it anyway, so we just accepted it and hoped nothing like this happened. And second, it's not as bad as you think. It feels that way. I'm sure having a baby at your age is going to be difficult, but it's not the end of the world," he said.

Yuri asked, "Not as bad as I think? We're sixteen. We're not ready to be parents."

Chiding his son at this point served no purpose. As a parent, he was upset they'd been irresponsible, devastated they were in the position they were in, and scared of the consequences that were going to come if his son had gotten his girlfriend pregnant.

Discussing those things with Yuri was pointless; he was at an age where he barely needed his dad. At this moment, he needed his dad to be strong and a source of wisdom and stability. Yuri needed his Dad to help him navigate this unexpected storm, and in all things, he tried to be a good parent to his son.

Laxus gave his response a lot of thought and said, "Maybe you feel like a kid now, but you're not really. You've grown up a lot over these past few months with everything that happened. You went through hell too, but you were able to just bear it and be okay. I noticed that. You were strong in the face of adversity that would make some adults piss themselves."

"I love her, you know."

"I know."

"I mean it, Dad."

Laxus smiled a little. "C'mon. Go take care of that before you develop an ulcer. No reason to panic until you know."

He walked his son back to the hotel and to the door of Sabertooth's room, where he caught a glimpse of their otherwise silent team being irritated by the hyperactive and bored Orga. It wasn't the best environment for taking a pregnancy test or two scared teens.

Laxus said, "Let me get take your mom down for a bite to eat, and you guys can go to our room, okay?"

"Thanks."

He gave his son a big, long hug and departed for his room, stopping to harvest Lex from Layla who was still fuming.

When he came in, he gave his wife a big kiss on the cheek.

Lucy kissed him then the baby. "My Laxus and my Lexi! Did you boys have a fun time today?"

"Yes, working hard to keep these kids out of trouble. Goddamned hormones."

"And Lex is useful?"

Laxus smirked, "You have no idea. Let's go down and get something to eat. You've been sleeping for a while."

Lucy knew he knew something was wrong, but he didn't let on. The fact he could read her and respect her unspoken wishes not to talk about it made her so grateful to have him as a husband.

Lex fell asleep in his high chair.

"Did he get a nap today?"

"Maybe? He was with Layla and some idiot all day."

"Sam?"

"Different idiot."

Lucy ordered a salad and some water as she studied her husband. Something wasn't quite right about the story, and she knew him well enough to know he was full of mischief. "Honey, who was she with?"

"That Nekkis boy. Hairy mongrel."

"Is he taller than you?"

"Not helping, Babe."

"Did you use my son to ruin your daughter's date?"

"Maybe."

"You are so childish."

They were halfway through eating when Yuri ran through the dining room, whispered the word 'negative' in his father's ear, and just kept running.

Laxus felt _so relieved_ he didn't even know how to express it, but when Lucy asked, he just shrugged and said Yuri would talk to her about it. They were careful to maintain honestly but to also respect how their children trusted and interacted with them. The girls typically went to their mother first, and Yuri to his father, and they didn't want to do anything to break that trust.

They went back upstairs, bathed their exhausted baby and themselves, and snuggled up.

XXX

Opening Games:

They commenced with all the competitors bowing before the King Pilar and Queen Hisui.

Except the kids from Fairy Tail, because they wanted to let everyone know exactly where they all stood. Their guildmaster had not been notified in advance, and all the older wizards sighed in frustration at their open and public defiance.

Fairy Tail Team 1: Yuri, Anna, Sam  
Fairy Tail Team 2: Layla, Mavis, Iggy

Natsu and Lisanna were managing Team 2 while Laxus and Lucy stayed with Team 1, careful not to let any of their defiant children out of their sight since they'd already drawn the king's ire before the competition began fully.

There were only ten teams, so there was no qualifying event. The entire contest was scheduled to take place over a four day period. One team event, one set of duels for three days, then a team battle at the end.

Sam and Iggy were in the first event with Petri Nekkis and Laxus knew they were going to make trouble when Sam whispered to Iggy.

Guild was guild, and if Sam said some guy from another guild was flirting with Layla, Iggy was certainly in favor of intervening. First, because he believed in Sam and Layla, and second, because he'd been babies with the m too and he didn't believe in interlopers. Natsu treated people from outside the guild a certain kind of way and his son held some of the same beliefs.

Popping Baby Orga was on their schedule too.

The contest was a race to climb a small mountain that appeared, but as soon as the buzzer sounded, fighting erupted at the bottom between the participants. It wasn't just Fairy Tail making trouble, either. Within a few seconds, it was a free for all and no one was at all concerned with actually climbing the mountain.

Then again, it was a batch of teenage boys, so everyone in attendance just had to groan and roll their eyes at the boyish scrap.

Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose. "Boys…"

Anna called from the sidelines, "Iggy!"

He looked up and got punched right in the side of his skull. Then he got cranky and sent Rogue's son flying with one angry little fire roar.

"Climb!"

Lucy hugged her from behind. "Honey, if you keep yelling at him, they're going to keep punching him in the head. And trust me, acting like that, those boys need all their brain cells intact."

When the event's timer had nearly run down, all of them suddenly jumped and started climbing, but continued their bickering, trash-talking, and fighting.

Petri Nekkis was about to reach for the flag at the top and come in first place when Sam jumped and deftly knocked him onto the floor and snatched it, pulling Iggy up with him. "That's mine, sorry!"

Petri just laughed, because it was fun. Fight or no, they'd all had fun and they didn't have a reason to hate each other. He still felt a little insult to his male pride and knowing just enough to get a little even, he dusted himself off after coming in last place, ran, and jumped to hang off the rail where Layla was.

He kissed her right on the cheek and then grinned. "How come you didn't cheer for me?"

"Because I wanted you to lose. I'm not going to fraternize with the enemy in front of everyone," she answered.

Natsu growled, "Beat it Romeo, or your next stop is the burn ward."

"Yikes, your guild is fierce!" he said before dropping back to the floor of the arena and exiting.

Mavis was the first duel called, and her opponent was Hailey Lates, the beautiful, curvy daughter of Hibiki and Jenny Lates.

When she came out to fight in a bikini, Lucy sighed and said, "This isn't going to go well."

"Nope," her husband said with a nod.

Hailey posed, tossing her long blonde hair. "How about we settle this like civilized women. Let our bodies determine the match!"

Mavis glared, feeling a little bitter that this was her match. "Are you serious?"

"Of course! I mean, you may not be the curviest. I've got you beat on bust, after all."

Mavis looked down at her much flatter chest and said, "Geeze, I feel almost bad doing this."

"Do your worst!"

Three seconds later, she was laid out on the ground, fingertips twitching. "N-No fair."

"What? My fist is a part of my body, right?"

The next Fairy Tail duel was between Anna and Sergei Bastia. He looked as much like his father as she did her mother.

She was a vision of Lucy in her black uniform, hair in a side ponytail. Keys jiggled at her side, along with a whip.

Her opponent was a couple of years older, bigger, and focused.

Sergei was tall, like his father, with shorter white hair and buggy blue eyes. "Hello, Miss."

"Hello."

"I'm not thrilled to have a lady as an opponent."

Anna said, "Don't go easy on me. I don't want anyone to get any ideas."

"I'm here for Lamia Scale. My idiot teammate Petri came in last place during the group competition. I can't dishonor my guild," he answered.

She lifted her blue eyes and came up with a plan.

"Loke, my friend."

Her spirit appeared at her side in a suit. "You wish is my command, my lovely."

Loke looked up at Lucy and smiled a bit, and she returned it. It was rare for him to have a new master when his old was not only still alive but also so near. Lucy selected him to be her daughter's first gold key and the first one she cultivated a relationship with, and he considered that a high honor. Keys tended to be more likely to be passed on with death, which meant when the new user started to learn, the prior user was deceased. That meant most celestial wizards mostly had to learn as they went.

Lucy's training was very well planned and executed gracefully as her daughter grew. Celestial Spirit summoners were late bloomers, and she wasn't going to hit a peak for years still, but Anna was well on her way.

In no time flat, there was an enormous tiger made completely from ice running amok in the pit of the arena. It was huge, fast, and spoke to the wizard's surprising amount of magic power.

Loke and Anna were quickly running from it when she said, "Hey, you're supposed to fight!"

"So are you!"

"You're running from a cat. And you're a cat! Cowardly lion!"

Lucy brought a palm to her face as she watched. "Loke, get it together!"

Anna spun in a second, reached for the whip, and with one precise crack, wrapped it around the ice tiger's foot and pulled hard enough to send it crashing to the ground, where it shattered.

The strength of a spirit was determined in part by the strength of the summoner and the power of their bond, so as a new spirit to a young summoner, Loke found himself largely limited. He used a burst of Regulus magic to blind Sergei for a few seconds, only to be treated to another ice-make monster.

The next ice construct was an enormous ape, and besides taking an enormous amount of magic, it was also balanced so Anna couldn't topple it easily.

Anna reached for her keys, and selected a gold key, poised to call two Zodiac spirits at once, which was an unheard of impossibility for someone her age. The ape swooped in to grab her, and she stabbed a key right into its chest.

Ice was water.

Was there going to be a penalty for summoning the cranky mermaid from the body of an ice monster? Yes. Consequences for everyone: for Anna, for Sergei, and even for all the poor unsuspecting people in the front rows.

The ape exploded into shards of ice and a shower of freezing rain as Aquarius appeared.

Sergei was thrown up against the containing wall by a slushy mix of water and ice and quickly stood to his feet.

There were three opponents and he found they started to move in a certain formation, carefully coordinated. He was outnumbered, and they started to close in.

He couldn't attack them all at once except with his ice-make falcons, but when he created them, a wall of water swept over them and he saw a flash of light.

The sting of the whip around his feet made him wince, and he was hit with a one-two, first from Loke's Regulus magic, then from Aquarius. The whip was yanked, and he fell flat on his face with his feet completely immobilized, effectively ending the match.

After close of the first day, there were celebrations and kids being kids at the pool and elsewhere.

Sam Redfox stewed quietly by himself in the garden while Layla ran amok with the new guy, and the twins drank slushies and guildmasters and chaperones tried to keep the wild bunch in line. Since this generation had few serious involvements with one another that were negative, there was much trouble outside of some trash talking. Hormones and horseplay were the real issues that demanded constant attention, especially around the pool and all through the lobby and garden.

Lucy was sure the hotel owner looked upon the chaos and said to himself "never again."

She also wasn't sure if she'd ever had to yell 'be careful' so many times as she sat next to the pool and performed her duties as chaperone.

That said, she was glad she felt better and the excitement kept Lex entertained as he sat on her lap.

Watching the older kids was never-ending amusement and he seemed excited for the day he'd be able to play with the big kids.

Yuri came and pulled up a chair next to her. "Hey Mom."

"Hi, son. You excited for tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yeah. I actually wanted to tell you about something that happened."

Lucy braced herself, because conversations that started out like this never went anywhere good. "Okay. What's on your mind?"

Yuri bashfully answered, "So uhhh…Lilia…we uhhh…it was negative, but we had to take a test yesterday."

It really only took her about three seconds to connect the dots, but she still asked, "Test for what?"

"You know, in case she was, _you know_ …"

His mother didn't know what to make of this. She was glad his son hadn't made himself a father yet still a little disappointed and stressed that he'd been in that position in the first place. Since Yuri had taken enormous strides toward being an adult, she almost felt like she no longer had the right to lecture him like a child.

 _Almost._

"Yuri Dreyar, you better not make any babies for the next few years, do you hear me? I am too young to be a grandmother! How can you be so reckless, do you have any idea what it's like raising a baby? They yell, they hate it when you sleep or have fun, and they do things like _go out and have sex_ when they are too young and then they put you in this position where you want to respect their maturity but they're not being mature, they're still having irresponsible, underrage sex!"

She spat it out all in one breath while Yuri took it.

He knew it was coming; Mama was still Mama.

He was starting to understand that in her eyes, he would always be her little Thunder baby. Normally, it annoyed him, but he couldn't shake the memory of when he and Layla and Sam were in trouble and he and his sister came to the startling realization that they just wanted Mom and Dad.

Once she had her rant off her chest, she took a deep breath. "You're okay?"

"We're fine."

"I didn't ask about her."

"It's not her fault, Mom."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You didn't get anyone almost pregnant before she came along."

"I was four when she came along. It was my fault. I'm not going to say more than that. I don't think you want to know anything more specific," he answered.

"Damn right I don't."

Lucy hugged her baby son and watched her full-grown son for signs of distress, but he seemed okay. He was obviously relieved, but not in any kind of post-crisis panic. "If she was pregnant, what were you guys going to do? Did you talk about it?"

Yuri nodded. "Yeah, we did. We agreed if there was a baby we'd get married. I'd quit school and work, we could move into an apartment. It would have been okay, I think."

"Yuri, look, I'm your mom. It's my job to freak out about stuff like this. I'm not ready for you to grow up, I don't want you to be a dad yet, but you have to remember you have a support system. We would have helped you. Let's be real here: when you _do_ have a kid someday, that kid is going to be spoiled beyond reason. Your potential kids have a full deck: two great parents, grandparents on both sides and three aunties."

Two of the young male wizards ran by and Lucy turned, "Hey, that's too rough! No running by the pool!"

The didn't hear her, so Yuri zapped them and said, "Hey, cut that shit out!" in his much louder, deeper voice.

"Son, you want me to wash that mouth out with soap?"

"No, Mama. Sorry."

And then, Lucy started giggling. "Geeze, you're just like your dad."

"How?"

"I can't even begin to list all the ways, but your dad has certain words that make him really uncomfortable. He won't ever utter them, and he hates hearing them. They make him nervous. Your dad is scared of the word 'vagina,' and I think I've only heard him say it once or twice. 'Pregnant' is one of your words. It should be—you need to be scared of that right now. I'll let you know when I'm ready for you to have babies."

Yuri knew she was right. He had a long list of words that made him uncomfortable, and most of them were related to women or female anatomy. His sisters were the opposite; all of them were bold and none of them had a problem saying exactly what they thought or felt.

His mother became quiet, and he stayed next to her while she continued overseeing the rowdy boys (whose nonsense had driven every female in range up to their rooms). Then, once she recovered from the fact her son had been forced to address the idea of fatherhood, she started talking about everything else that was on her mind: how proud she was of them, how happy she was Anna won her fight, how hard she giggled at Mavis' response to the modeling competition, Sam and Iggy knocking the big, bag Petri Nekkis into last place, and then from there went on to her undying belief that Layla and Sam belonged together.

Yuri found this subject peculiar because it seemed like everyone had an opinion on it. The adults in the guild watched the dramatic relationship between Sam and Layla play out in real time with all their opinions on it.

Lex reached his arms out and started screeching while she was talking, demanding attention from his big brother.

"I see how it is. You boys think you need to stick together."

Yuri took him and bounced him on one of his legs, and threw him high and caught him.

"Don't throw that baby!"

"He likes it, Mom. We always do this. He also likes to go swoosh," he said, standing to swing his baby brother by the arms in a circle. Then he threw him up high again and caught him again. He swung him by his feet, lifted him up high and down so his toes grazed the floor gently. Lex squealed, screamed, and giggled for more.

His sisters nurtured and spoiled Lex, but Yuri was just such a boy with his little brother. Lucy knew he'd never hurt the baby, but she couldn't help but roll her eyes in her baby son's unending delight in having little wild moments. Contrasted against the wild teenage boys running amok, Lucy knew boys just loved being boys.

"Be careful. He's delicate, you know!"

Then, Yuri pulled up a chair in between them and let Lex sit in it by himself with his teething ring. "Sometimes, he likes to chill without being hugged all the time."

"Says who?"

"Look, women carry him around all day, squeeze him constantly, and he just feels a little smothered," Yuri explained.

Lucy argued, "Lex is an attention-hungry spoiled baby boy. I have two like that. The older one is a little obnoxious sometimes. He thinks being loved by his mother is an unpleasant, suffocating experience now that he's achieved puberty."

Lex was mindlessly chewing on the teething ring when Lucy reached out.

"You want Mama? My precious baby boy! You're so sweet and handsome! Mama has kisses!"

The baby looked up at Yuri, and then continued his chewing, seemingly unresponsive to her offer of affection.

Lucy said, "He's trying to be like you. You're being a bad influence! I can't believe my baby would rather be thrown around like a football than get snuggles from his mother."

When Sting came down to take over as the chaperone for the pool area, Lucy stood to take her son upstairs and get ready for bed and immediately felt light-headed. Strong hands steadier her, and she grinned a bit.

"Are you okay, Mom?"

"I probably need to drink more water. Just dizzy. You know sometimes you're a real gentleman. And other times you're just a huge brat. I hope someday you have five just like you. Just not today or anytime in the near future, got that?"

"Got it."

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	53. The Games Part 2

"So…like this…and then like this…and then…"

Making Friends Dreyar Style:

After Mavis' stunning humiliation of the pretty little Lates girl, they'd found one another after the second day of fighting. She was currently teaching Hailey Lates how to win a fight with fists rather than boobs.

"This is best angle. If your opponent is a guy, go straight for the nuts."

Lucy found them in the hotel garden and was in some ways touched her least friendly child befriended the one she defeated and a little proud she felt the need to help a fellow girl out. Then she realized her precious baby girl was teaching another girl how to nail a guy in the testicles and sighed.

At Blue Pegasus, charm was typically exalted before skill, a mindset Mavis neither knew nor understood.

What Lucy did not know or understand was why the guild consistently entered competitions. It typically didn't go particularly well.

On the upside, when it was Master Bob's turn to watch the pool area, none of the boys went and the girls had the place to themselves. There was no force on earth that could clear a room full of teenage boys like the presence of Master Bob.

The second day of the games had gone well for Fairy Tail, which showcased the guild's power over the others, which was largely based on how many dragons there were in Fairy Tail to make more dragons during the next generation.

Iggy won a match against Baby Orga.

Sam won a match against Max Cheney.

The only realistic difference between the Sabertooth boys and the Fairy Tail boys was that the fairies had seen and experienced hell: fight to survive, fight even though it hurts, fight to defend your loved ones. So when the fights got nasty, they were mostly undeterred, especially Sam. For better or worse, having his arm cut up had drastically changed his pain threshold. He was tough as the nails he ate with his dinner.

The team event involved navigating a color-coded maze. As fate would have it, Yuri and Layla ended up in the competition. Yuri had no idea what to do since he knew his team was Orange and couldn't see orange and Layla wasted so much time trying to help him they finished seventh and eighth.

It was a little endearing to watch, and sweet. Also strangely funny and pitiful at the same time. Two powerful wizards, stumped by the color orange.

The third day was going to be the twins in the team event and Yuri and Layla dueling, and then the big battle on the final day was left, but overall, Fairy Tail had demonstrated some impressive prowess, leaving parents and guildmaster confident and proud.

Once the rambunctious wizards were safely in their rooms for the night, Laxus deposited his baby son off with his older brother for a while, and then went on to their room with some plans to get a little love from his wife.

Laxus took a shower, brushed his teeth, and came out in a towel to find his wife in red lace.

"Here, kitty kitty," he whispered as he dropped the towel and climbed into bed with her.

She squealed as they went about the business of kisses and nibbles and touches and rolling about on the bed. It felt like business as usual, but Laxus got the impression that something was a little off. The movements were there but the passion was not, and Lucy was typically vocal when she didn't feel like dealing with him. He was a little confused when she coaxed him on, but he couldn't profess he understood her completely either.

Lucy was the one that took her panties off but as soon as he was inside of her, something didn't feel right. She wasn't as turned on as she normally was and it felt unusually tight and uninviting. Her fingernails were clawing into him and although this was normal for her, never that hard. When he moved, her teeth clenched together, but he was sure it wasn't out of pleasure.

"Lucy, am I hurting you?"

"No, of course not," she whispered.

Laxus pulled out anyway and rolled off of her. "You're sleeping a lot. Your appetite is weird. Tell me you're not pregnant, Lucy."

Lucy climbed onto his lap, wrapping her legs around him and pulling him in for a close skin-on-skin embrace. "I thought that. I was really upset, but it's actually a lot worse."

"There's something worse than having six kids?" he teased, trying to fill the tense air and pretending he was something other than terrified about what his wife was about to tell him.

She squeezed him tighter, and kissed his cheek. "Everything is going to be okay, I promise."

"You've always been the worst fucking liar in the world," he whispered, pulling back so he could look into her eyes. "Look at me. Tell me what's wrong. Please."

She took his hand, and guided it to a specific spot on her left breast, and then pressed. He felt a rock-hard mass roll under his fingers.

"What the hell is that?"

"Cancer."

It was just one word. One tiny word. Everyone knew it. Everyone was afraid of it. No one was safe, and it was one of the few things magic just couldn't help. Magic could heal sicknesses caused by pathogens or seal wounds or fuse broken bones together; there was no magic for this illness because the disease came from a person's own body.

Cancer was the reason his father was dead, but he hadn't cared much about that. His father had died from a type of cancer that kills painfully and indiscriminately. The mightiest wizard in the world would have died exactly the same way as his pathetic, shameful father.

But Lucy didn't deserve that.

His mind filled with questions, and he didn't know which one to ask first. Then, he didn't want to hit her with a barrage of questions either because he didn't want her to know how scared he was. Lucy squeezed him so tight that he felt like a somewhat pathetic husband that she was sick and she was trying to comfort him.

"How long have you known?" he asked.

Lucy said, "A few weeks. I started taking medicine and it's making my body feel kind of gross. I've been trying kind of hard to keep up. With Sam and Layla and all that mess, it just hasn't ever been the right time to talk about it. I don't want to pile anything on anyone. And then I didn't want to ruin this week for the kids. They're young and excited, and things have already been so heavy lately. I just want them to have fun."

Laxus lowered her down and pulled the covers over her, tucking her in gently. "You're so stubborn and so selfless I can't stand it sometimes. What happens now? I mean, it's treatable, right?"

His wife rested her head on his arm when he settled in beside her. "I've been told I have pretty even odds. Maybe I'll be here this time in a couple of years, maybe not. A lot of that depends on how treatments go and whether or not it's spread. And whether or not I have a mastectomy, which my doctor said should happen really soon."

"What is that?"

With a sigh, she looked down and seemed far beyond distressed for a few seconds. "Surgical removal of the entire breast. Both sides. Literally everything will be gone. I'll just have a scar. I'm a curvy girl, and I don't really want to go through that. But if I want to live, I have to let someone cut my breasts off and then I have to be sick and probably lose all my hair."

There was nothing in all of his many years of life that had prepared him to deal with this. His plan was to get old and watch her get wrinkly and soft and turn into an overly-opinionated grandmother who drank too much wine.

The idea that she might be in danger he could not save her from was terrifying.

Laxus wanted to have the right words to say to make her feel better, but the more he tried to come up with some encouragement, the more he realized how absurd it really was. His wife had cancer; ugly, evil, dangerous cancer.

Lucy could practically hear him thinking too hard and said, "I've had some time to think about it since I kept it a secret from you, and I'm sorry. I know that we've come to this place in our path in life where the way ahead is really rocky, and it's not necessarily going to have a happy ending. But we're wizards, and how many times have our lives been in danger and we just not cared at all? We learned to focus on what we're fighting for, and not the fight."

Her husband's lip twitched into a half-smile. "That's my girl. We have a lot more living to do, you know."

"I'm just really not done. I want to see if you look like Makarov in thirty years. I want to see our babies as they mature into adults and find love and have their own babies. I want to see a bunch of little blonde kids chasing you around the house calling you 'Gams.' I really have it all planned out in my head."

Laxus kissed her hair. "You will. You're a fighter. We'll be all right."

Lucy suddenly sat up again and looked down at herself. "Will you still find me cute when I have no hair or tits?"

"I'll buy you a wig and some big fake titties, but I don't care too much. I get the most turned on when I piss you off and no one can take that away from me."

She hit him with the pillow and giggled. "You're the worst!"

Laxus gave her a little smirk and said, "I don't care how you look. I care that you're here. That's the only thing that matters to me."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Lex. I told you I wanted this baby and now we have a little baby at home and I'm about to not really be able to do everything I should for him. It's an extra burden," she admitted.

Her husband answered, "We made that decision together. I love that little guy, and I'm glad he's with us. He's our son. And don't worry about him, either. Focus on getting better as soon as possible. You know I'm fucking useless without you. I love you. I need you. So be strong, okay, Babe? And talk to me. When you feel good or bad or you need something. You know there's nothing I won't give you. Let me go get that rascal though, if we're going to bed."

When he left and came back, they put Lex to bed in between them, and snuggled him.

"Did you tell your son why you needed him to watch him? He doesn't know we were trying to have sex, right?"

"No. Our son isn't an idiot though."

Lucy said, "He kind of is."

"It was just a false alarm. Please get over it. There are honestly much more important things going on in our lives than the fact our son's girlfriend is _not_ pregnant. Go to sleep, Babe."

He reached over and turned out the lights, and leaned over to kiss her head what felt like a hundred times. Lucy knew she'd scared the shit out of him, but once she had the diagnosis, there was no getting around it. He might have been the biggest, baddest dragon of all, but he was more or less incapable of functioning as an independent being after over eighteen years of being with her.

They were quiet, but neither of them slept well.

And, in the middle of the night, she whispered, "Are you awake?"

"Yeah. You need something, Babe?" he gently answered.

Lucy wiggled closer and asked, "Do you remember when we were dating, and you almost got killed on a job? You came to my apartment and puked on the floor."

"I remember."

"You said, when you were laying there, facing death, your imagination ran wild and you tried to imagine who I'd be with if you died there."

Laxus turned the light back on and gave her a one-eye-half-open, hair-crazy-as-fuck glare. "I don't like where this conversation is going."

Lucy asked, "If the worst happened, do you think you'd remarry? I don't really like the idea of you being alone. You're the most social anti-social person I've ever known."

"We are not having this conversation, Lucy."

"But—"

He looked down at their sleeping son and said, "If it wasn't you, I don't think I ever would have gotten married or had kids or anything. When we met, I wasn't trying to be what I became with you. What the fuck am I going to do with somebody else?"

"You like sex."

"I can help myself."

"I mean, even if you didn't marry, I'm sure you could at least get sex. You're good in bed, and you're handsome. For an old guy."

Her husband asked, "That's the exact example I want to set for our five children. 'Relationships are hard, have casual sex instead.' I'm getting older, and that's something I only want to share with you. I don't want to talk about what happens if things go wrong ever again. We're not going to start that shit. You're going to stay here with me and put up with me until the end of time and that's that."

Laxus turned the lights out again.

XXX

The next day was the final regular day of the games, and the twins were up to compete in the team event. At some point during the event, they realized their 'sweet' child Anna really wasn't sweet, she just wasn't as combative, violent, and blatantly aggressive as her siblings. Compared to people in general, she was a little bit on the rough side.

Besides, her sense of 'sweet' seemed to begin and end at the guild.

Anna purposefully attacked Sergei Bastia to get ice to summon Aquarius, and then Mavis electrified the water. It was ugly, it induced chaos, and no one actually finished the event because they were busy fighting and getting washed around with lightning water, even the twins. The match was decided by Magic Power Finder and they finished in the middle, which was acceptable. The fact they were able to keep anyone from completing the intended competition was in and of itself, quite a feat.

The duels were called, and neither Fairy Tail team had been called when there were two matches remaining, meaning they'd compete last. The only other competitors left were Lamia Scale's Petri Nekkis and Sabertooth's Ashlock Lore.

Yuri, Petri, Ashlock, and Layla were definitely titans compared to the rest, but it wasn't entirely clear how they ranked.

Since Layla and Petri were having a rather intense flirtation, everyone aware was relieved when Yuri and Petri were called to fight.

"This is going to be interesting," Laxus said as he looked over the edge.

"I have my little, tiny ruler, in case you and Jura still need it," his wife replied.

Layla had no problems with Petri as the son of Jura, who had led the inquest into the lacrima at the new king's behest. But Yuri? Yuri was clearly pissed. Petri didn't know about anything that had happened between his father and Fairy Tail, so he wasn't really sure why Yuri seemed angry.

"Is this about your sister?" he asked.

"Don't talk about my sister."

Petri grinned. "How about this? If I win, you have to pay for me to take your sister out for dinner. What if you win?"

Yuri answered, "If I win, you can sit in the infirmary with a broken nose. And never speak to Layla again."

"You're so serious! Fine, Fine. I'm not going to lose. I can't now."

When the buzzer sounded, they went at one another hard and fast. The difference between their match and every match that came before it was wide enough that the match looked like it could have been from the adult version of the games.

Lightning cracked, thunder boomed, crashing against earthen obstructions and in between magically-charged fists, kicks, and headbutts.

Layla leaned over the rail and shouted, "Kick his ass, Yuri!"

The fight got nasty pretty quick, with growling and fangs bared and fists flying. They left cracks in the retaining wall as they crashed against one another, and left many near the stage deaf from the sound of thunder or covered in dust from the earthen creations.

They seemed so evenly matched neither could actually win, and they were bludgeoning each other fairly badly each time they came into contact.

"Man, what's your deal?"

Yuri growled and threw his fist. "Your stupid Dad and the stupid Magic Council!"

Petri ducked and said, "My dad? Did he do something to piss you off?"

The dragon froze. "You…don't…know?"

"I have fucking clue what you're talking about. My parents are divorced. I talk to my dad once a month. I have no idea how many or which people he pisses off."

Yuri was so distracted by the idea he'd spent ten minutes trying to beat someone for something he did not know about that he momentarily forgot exactly what he was supposed to be doing. A vengeful personality didn't suit him at all, so as soon as it lifted, he felt strangely disoriented.

And then he got bashed upside the skull with a powerfully-charged haymaker and did one spin before falling flat on his face, where he lay motionless until after the match was called.

"Ouch! My baby!" Lucy exclaimed.

Her husband chuckled a bit. "He's all right. This is a good place for him to learn to keep his head in the game. In a nasty battle, he can't do that."

Petri grabbed him and hauled him to his feet. "Yuri, my friend, this is the start of a great bromance."

They were halfway down the tunnel when Yuri wiped his bloody nose. "I don't think I like you very much."

"We're rivals, obviously. We've got some reason Sting Eucliffe and Natsu Dragneel circa x791 stuff going on. Anyway, how about a drink on me? We're the only competitors old enough to drink, so let's go have some fun."

"What about Layla?" Yuri asked.

Petri said, "I just sucker-punched the dear older brother in the side of the head. Probably on her shit list right now. Let's get some bandages and some beer after the girls fight."

"I haven't seen the other girl," Yuri commented.

"Ashlock? She kicked my ass. We took the same job from different clients last year."

They stopped briefly for ice and water while the event organizers were trying to repair the damage they'd done. Petri got four stitches and Yuri only needed two, and the latter argued this meant he probably should have won. From there, they headed up to the stands and found two empty seats to occupy.

Petri said, "The only my dad said me recently is that bad things might start happening soon, and when they do, you need to know who your friends are. I think we need to be allies. All of us who are strong. If we learn how to stick together now while we're young, it'll be harder for them to turn us against each other later on. That's what normally happens. The people who are young and strong fight each other because the older wizards pit them against each other."

"Something bad happened in my guild. Something like that. We can ally with you."

The older boy leaned in and lowered his voice. "Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, Fairytail. You, me, Layla, and Ashlock—the top four in our generation. We stick together from here on out."

Laxus had stressed to him that friends were critically important, both in and out of the guild. It seemed like a good idea. After what had happened with Sam, it was definitely smart. They'd witnessed firsthand how quickly an experienced schemer could play them and he'd promised himself he'd never let it happen again.

They shook hands, and when Ashlock Lore and Layla came out to fight, everyone became quiet.

They two girls were roughly the same size as far as height was concerned. Layla was a little more developed, but she was the spawn of Lucy, so that was normal. Ashlock had long straight black hair and dark green eyes, a direct contrast to Layla's short, wild golden locks and bright blue eyes.

Layla had her father's headphones on, wild hair the wind blew, and an eye scar that made her look like a formidable opponent.

Ashlock was polished, every hair in place, with flawless, milky skin.

Both beautiful, in different but striking ways.

The audience was engaged by the idea of two attractive, powerful girls fighting, but when the buzzer sounded, neither moved.

They'd been raised on rumors about one another, but never come face-to-face until right then.

They circled each other, and Layla noticed her opponent stepped to her left, putting her in the blind spot she was trying to keep secret.

Everyone waited, for two girls who were spoken often of, but never really seen.

And then, all at once, they moved and it became clear that everything about them was different. Ashlock was an adept martial artist; Layla moved almost like an acrobat. Her movements were fast, flexible, and nimble to her opponents much powerful and carefully planned blows.

Ashlock used her mother's magic; Layla was the bearer of Makarov's mantle.

It quickly started to turn in Layla's favor, but when she was knocked to the ground, it was instinct to land a certain way since she couldn't see on one side.

"You're blind on one side," Ashlock whispered, so low even the microphones didn't pick it up.

Layla stood to her feet and dusted herself off. "You're going to make me do something I don't want to do…"

"What? Lose?" she gestured for her to attack, and then disappeared to the left side. "I always hear about you. About how pretty you are. About how smart you are. Maybe I'm as strong as you, they say. I'm not going to live in the shadow of some spoiled one-eyed blonde."

Layla leaned in and whispered, "I've heard of you too. Mean. Cold. Arrogant. Powerful. That's fine. My powers work best against people that are dark on the inside."

"Come and get it then, blondie. Even the king wants you to lose, you know."

Lucy watched them from the stands as they leaned in, speaking so quietly no one could hear.

Laxus asked, "What are they talking about?"

"Nothing good. Girls their age are notoriously cruel. The boys don't really care that much. Look at 'em. They're already over it. But the girls? There's only one queen bee in a hive, Honey," his wife answered.

Layla meanwhile came up with a plan to win. Her opponents could block her attacks fairly easily using her space magic, but Layla knew her magic was going somewhere. Ashlock had figured out she couldn't see on one side and was using it to a powerful advantage. If she didn't do something, she'd lose.

Ashlock froze in place when the prosthetic eye suddenly changed from a lifeless, glassy blue color to glowing gold so she had one blue eye and one gold. "What the hell is that?"

But, what else was she going to do? Being blind on one side, she had to compensate, and when it became clear she wouldn't ever have a normal eye, she'd consulted her father's most loyal friend Freed Justine about eye magics.

Freed had enchanted her prosthetic eye and what she could see through it was very different than what she could perceive through her human eye. Any kind of magic that was invisible was only like that due to bending lightwaves, so she could see all sorts of hidden things—including the magic space her opponent was using to eliminate her magic.

And then her prosthetic eye went right back to normal.

"H-Hey, what the hell was that?!" Ashlock asked.

Layla looked around. "What was what? I must have missed it. I'm just a one-eyed blonde after all."

And then she ran, past her opponent, and gave one huge attack seemingly into nothing. A fissure opened, seemingly out of nowhere and all the light that was stored in the space she hurled back at Ashlock.

The blow was huge, final, and served to establish her at the top of the pecking order. Layla wasn't the most mature and she was the opposite of a fantastic leader. Her attitude could usually be better, but she had power none of them had, the same power that caused Makarov to take notice of her before she could even walk.

Once the match was over, she offered Ashlock a hand, but the raven haired girl refused as she lay there fighting the tears.

"That was a cheap trick. You were lucky! If it weren't for that eye…"

"Uhhh, not really sure if luck is the right word. I mean, I had both eyes up until pretty recently. Besides, we're going out tonight, so get over it already," she said.

"Who is this 'we?'"

"You and me. Girls night out."

XXX

They walked in the garden, holding hands.

Suddenly, Laxus wasn't too busy to give his wife some attention, and she wasn't too distracted by her plethora of duties to wave it off.

"You feeling okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she gave him a lazy, tired grin and leaned against him. "I love you, you know. So big and strong, but sometimes, you're a big baby."

Her husband kissed her hair. "I know you will. It's what's between here and there I don't like. In my mind, you're the most powerful, vibrant person. I hate it when you're sick. Makes me angry at no one in particular. Or maybe everybody."

"You're turning into a cranky old man, you know."

"I'm not the only one who is changing. I can't say I don't appreciate your semi-monthly wine-induced inebriations or all the things you say once you start getting tipsy."

"I don't think our kids like it."

"Of course not. No one wants to see their saintly mother get shitfaced and tell them about how they were born. There's no way that's not cringeworthy. I cringe for them."

Lucy shrugged. "You laugh and give me more wine. You could just tell me no, but it's been eighteen years since we started dating, and I don't think you're about to start that."

Her husband kissed her hair. "I've had fun spoiling you so far. No reason to stop now. I'm getting older and I'm set in my ways."

"Me too."

He pulled her close, gave her a kiss, and held her for a long time. "Hey, you bring anything nice? A dress? Or just mom-clothes?"

Lucy lightly punched him. "Look, I'm thirty-six and I wear mini-skirts, and I'm not going to stop, ever. What are 'mom-clothes?'"

"Let me rephrase:"

"Laxus…"

He smirked. "Put on your sluttiest outfit. I have an idea."

The blonde groaned at her husband. "Why would I have something slutty? If our children were academics and not wizards, this would be the national spelling bee. Do you think the perfect suburban wives of Fiore pack their trashy slutwear on the way to that?"

"C'mon, babe. For me. I want to take you somewhere," he playfully pled.

"Ugh, fine."

He kissed her again. "Go get cute for me. And make it something you don't mind me tearing up."

His wife rolled her eyes. "You tear up all my clothes, because you're a cross between a caveman and a dragon."

"Cave dragon?"

"More like horny man-child lizard guy," she specified, making a mental note she wanted to order him a new name plaque for his desk at the guild with this title on it.

The only downside to trying to play practical jokes on her husband was that he might do something terrible, like decide he liked it and allowing it to be on full display when important guests came to meet him. And then when this important guest looked down at it, he'd say she gave it to him and he only kept it to be nice.

Yes, this was a plan of self-defeat, and she steered herself away from her tangent.

"I'm not up for—"

"The dragon has no plans to visit the cave."

"You're so gross."

"Go get cute for me."

"What if I say no?" she teased.

"Dragons bite, you know," he whispered before biting her ear lobe lightly and making her giggle. "The only choice you have is where."

Was he the most annoyingly charming man ever? Probably. And just like he gave her whatever she wanted, she gave in and went to go get dressed up for her beloved husband. A skirt was cut shorter, a top as well, and she smeared some red lip gloss on her lips she was certain was going to end up all over him.

When he came to the room a few minutes later, he practically purred in delight and dug through her suitcase for a scarf, which he used to blindfold her.

Lucy heard the clink of crystal, and it brought back a memory.

And then, she momentarily shifted gears back into Mom mode. "Where are the kids?"

"Little one is with the twins, already heading to bed. Older kids are out with Petri and Ashlock. Don't know what they're doing but I doubt they're going to get into any trouble they can't get out of."

The blonde said, "But—"

"Can we just neglect them for one night?"

She sighed. "As long as the baby is okay, I guess…"

She understood that he wasn't being overly-eager because he was horny; horny just happened to be his normal method of operation with her so when he was anxious, so he just translated his behavior in what was probably not a healthy or appropriate way. Despite his eagerness, Lucy knew the real reason he wanted some alone time with her was because he was having a hard time swallowing what was about to happen in their lives.

Lucy was quickly learning that in dealing with a serious illness, she had to take care of his feelings just like he'd inevitably have to take care of hers. If he needed time with her, then she'd give it to him. There was a part of her that really wanted him to cope a little before they told their kids.

When his arms enveloped her, she felt the indescribable sensation of moving via lightning, and when they stopped, a warm summer breeze grazed her skin.

She remembered the smell of the flowers, the way the breeze tickled her skin. The memory seemed fresh and vibrant, and then a champagne bottle popped and suddenly, she was nineteen years old again, laying on a hill outside Crocus after dancing with him until she felt dizzy.

Lucy knelt and touched the grass, and then smiled as she pulled her blindfold off. "You remembered this place."

He offered her a flute of champagne. "Eighteen years, five kids, and more love than a bastard like me ever deserved."

Lucy clinked her glass against his. "It's been fun so far, hasn't it?"

"Always."

They rolled around in the grass a little, snuggling, kissing, tickling, drinking and spilling champagne.

Upwind, on the other side of the hill, Layla was standing with Petri Nekkis. The group of teenagers had joined and then later they had broken off on their own from the group after they left the zoo and headed back. This left Petri and Layla with their mutual crushes; they played tag, and ran through a park and down a dark path. They ended up racing to the top of the hill, and ended up at the top, out of breath.

"You're fast," he panted.

"You're slow," she answered.

"I don't mind. I could run forever. We're like the tortoise and the hare. You may be fast, but you look like you enjoy a good nap. I just have to be patient. Just when you least expect it…the wolf pounces!"

He reached over and she slapped his hand. "Boy, please. First you're a hare, now you're a wolf."

"So…do you like animals? I love 'em. I have a cat. Now that I think of it, you kind of remind me of a cat. You're pretty, and you seem to like my attention, but you're vicious and you seem to like sleeping. Now your turn. What kind of animal do you think I am?"

Layla said, "Blue-footed Booby. They were doing some mating dance while we were at the zoo. Whatever one did, the other had to replicate. Kind of sad and awkward. Reminds me of you somehow," she answered as she put her hands on her hips.

He put his hands on his hips and mimicked her stance, down to the slight angle of her hips and her feet. "My turn."

Layla wasn't sure when it became a game, but this ridiculously handsome, successful young man before her began the disgraceful art of mimicking the strange creatures at the zoo, stepping toward her and extending his arms like he was flapping wings. She certainly wasn't going to lose a game though, although as she mirrored this humiliating behavior, she wondered why she was letting this boy encourage her to act like a fool.

"Now then."

Layla slid down into splits. "Gymnastics."

Petri slid right down next to her. "Alvarian Yoga."

When it was his turn, he flexed his muscles and growled, and she fought the urge to laugh as she did the same.

She stood on her tiptoes and pulled her leg over her head giving him more than a little flash of her panties.

As a young man squarely on the complete side of puberty, the fact he saw her panties and the fact she could bend her legs like that had some terrible secondary effect on him, which he replied to with, "Okay, I lose."

The girl knew she was tempting him; it was exciting, and having the complete, intense attention from the handsome boy made her so excited she felt like she'd pass out. She laid down in the thick grass and sighed happily. "I don't want tonight to end."

He laid down next to her. "I like you so much I can't stand it. You're smart and you can kick my ass, and you're so damn cute."

There was something about his grin that reminded her of something she saw every day. Her interactions with Petri had been so magical it almost didn't feel real, but the world seeming tilted when she put it together. Tall, devilish grin, an antagonistic clown…

That adage about girls being attracted to men that were like their fathers came back to her.

After so many years of finding her beloved father overbearing and uncool, had she really fallen madly in love with someone that was so like him?

He even took her to the zoo, and now they were looking up at the stars. She was _sure_ her mother had told her a story like this once.

Since the moment she'd met him, she felt this starstruck sense of romance as if she'd known him all her life. It was factual; she had known him all her life, for he was her father—just in a slightly different package. She defied her father and sought the attention of a boy who was just like him, and she was so used to how her father related to her that they just fell into step in such a natural way she didn't realize her mistake.

"You have this look on your face like you just decided I have a dozen bodies buried in my basement," he said, concerned by the sudden change in her countenance.

"It's worse than that. I need to go home and think about my life."

"Fine, fine, the booby loses. It's getting late anyway, and I can always try again tomorrow. Eventually, I'll get you to give in to my good looks."

Layla cringed as this was the kind of thing he heard in the house when his father went into one of his moods where he'd circle her mother like a shark and badger her for her attention, good or bad.

They stood up and started to follow a path that appeared to lead downward, through some thick trees and then down to a gently-sloped little spot where they stumbled upon the Dreyars.

There was a sense of mutual horror as they all realized at the same moment that they were all there together. Lucy skirt was hiked up around her hips and her panties had been thrown in a nearby tree and were currently hanging next to the boy's head. Laxus was laying in between her legs and although he'd jerked his head up at the last second, it was really obvious what they'd been doing.

"Oh no…kids!" Lucy pulled her skirt down with speed she didn't have in a fight for her life and slung her leg over her husband's head as she jumped to her feet. "It's not what it looks like."

Laxus stood and crossed his arms as he was only wearing boxers and he really didn't know where his clothes where. He'd thrown them. They might have been in the trees, maybe down below, maybe they were torn up and weren't going to be wearable ever again. With lightning form, he really hadn't had to rely on wearing them back.

Petri said, "Sorry. We're just leaving."

Laxus narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why were you up here? I think it is common knowledge what people come up here to do."

"Not the time," Lucy said, her tone short, threatening.

Layla frowned and said, "Dad, you've ruined the best night of my life. Twice!"

Lucy was sure she hadn't blushed so hard in a decade at least, and when she looked at her husband, she found he was actually red in the cheeks. She was sure she hadn't seen him in a state of embarrassment in just was long.

"Layla, why don't you guys go back? It's late. And then, if it's all right with you, we'll just…never talk about this. Ever."

Lucy's suggestion was acceptable to everyone.

Laxus vanished with Lucy in a crack of lightning, and the teenagers started a slow, terrible walk down the hill and through a myriad of distasteful thoughts and reactions. Petri tried to comfort her by telling her about how he'd once caught his respectable father tied to a bed with a ball gag in his mouth, but she was only more disgusted at the depravity of the adults.

When the adults arrived at the hotel, Lucy flopped down on the bed. "Our daughter caught us getting it on in a public place, outside. And not just getting it on, but literally has to know what you were doing to me!"

Laxus covered his face and groaned. "I was just trying to be romantic."

"You didn't smell them?!"

"Look, when I'm in the zone, I can't smell anything except, you know."

"This is the only time I needed you to have a gross sense of smell in bed!"

"Why is this my fault?!"

"I didn't fly myself up there! I just got caught by my teenage daughter having my husband lick my vag—"

"Lucy, relax. She probably didn't know exactly what we were doing. How would she know about oral sex?"

Lucy just shook her head at him. "She wouldn't, because she lives in a bubble and has never, ever met another teenager, picked up a women's magazine, or spent time with a horny boy."

Laxus laid down next to her. "She's innocent. Why was our daughter up there anyway? That's where people go to fool around."

Lucy answered, "First of all, she wasn't the one messing around. We were. And second, our daughter is smart, hormonal, boy-crazy, and is itching to find someone who meets her ridiculous standards because girls are just as horny as guys are."

"Are you going to go talk to her?"

"About what? 'Sometimes Daddy likes to lick Mommy's vag—"

"Lucy."

"VAGINA!"

She yelled the word that made him most uncomfortable and he frowned at her.

The next morning, the teens were excitedly readying themselves for the final fight which began at noon. Except for Layla.

Lucy found her eating breakfast, alone, with a strange look on her face.

"Mind if I join you?"

The little blonde looked up at her mom. "Sure. I was kind of hoping I'd never see you guys again after last night. Then I remembered you're my parents."

"So you dad and I have a great sex life. End of story."

"Gross."

Lucy picked a blueberry off her plate and ate it. "How are things going with your new boyfriend?"

"I'm done with him. There came a moment where I realized I would basically be dating my father, and I can't live with that."

Her mother smiled and smoothed her hand over her daughter's hair. "You didn't realize right away? I thought it was so cute. Him following around annoying you. It reminded me of your dad and I right away."

"Why does the most amazing guy I've ever met have to be like my dad?!"

Lucy said, "Because your Dad is amazing to you. I know you guys have your moments. He's trying to protect you and you're trying to spread your wings and live your little life. You and your dad have a very special relationship where you adore each other but are at odds sometimes. Being with a guy like your dad is a good thing."

"How?!"

"Well, your dad is really passionate. And I'm not just talking about what you saw last night. He loves me and you guys. After eighteen years, he's still always excited to see me when he comes home. He's never looked at another woman. He's been by my side through everything, every step of the way. Plus, it's good to be with a guy who doesn't take himself so seriously. It makes life more fun."

Layla thought about this long and hard, and then emitted a long, slow sigh. "Fine. I still hope I get to punch him today."

"Nothing wrong with that, baby."

"You're the best, Mom."

 ** _Please Review!_**

 ** _Special thanks to saskiarosee, ashatan87, guest, thefangirlingfanboy, Arouraleona, lunastarlady, thornado, katiekat2001, mwolfe13, 17, sassykitten1701, yed01, cato yugi, pandorababe, screeney, light heartfilia, paname, and tiernank for reviewing!_**


	54. The Games End

At the start of the final event, there was immediate chaos.

They weren't like their parents; no, the younger wizards from each guild had been born during a wizard baby boom and they'd all been raised at the same time and under the same peace. They didn't have the bumps and bruises their parents had, and hadn't experienced the strife. As a result, they took the games as what they were and even during the last event, they were content to do their best, win or lose.

But really: **First things first!**

Laxus knew what was about to happen, and Lucy cringed a little.

"If my daughter wasn't in the middle of this, I'd find this amusing as hell," he whispered in his wife's ear as she hung over the rail.

"What?" Lucy looked up at him, confused, "What is Sam doing?"

"Hunting."

His wife realized Sam was looking for Petri and rolled her eyes. "Boys…"

"Men," Laxus corrected.

Lucy believed there was nothing more boyish or immature than two males exchanging aggression over a female, and she knew said exchange wouldn't affect Layla favorably. If it wasn't Fairy Tail against the world, she imagined Layla might stumble upon those two in a testosterone-fueled fight and beat them both up, then refuse to speak to them for an extensive period of time.

"Petri is a lot bigger than he is. Older. Stronger. I wish he wouldn't. I don't want Sam to get humiliated after everything he's been through. Layla bounced right back, but you know he's had bigger problems," she said.

Her husband answered, "Don't worry about Sam."

Sam hunted Petri like an animal, and upon finding him, found his overly-friendly opponent apologizing to Max Cheney for beating him into the dirt.

"Bro! What's up, man?" he flashed Sam the nicest of smiles, as if he hadn't spent the better part of the week trying to romance Layla.

Lucy covered her face. "Petri is an oblivious goofball. Sam is an angry dragon. I can't watch. But I have to. I swear I'm going to stop being so interested and invested in this, but I can't help it. I don't need juicy books or gossip magazines…I just need to watch this unfold."

Sam's skin coated itself in metal scales head-to-toe, his new skill. He might not have had the elemental wrecking power of lightning or fire, but being iron-dipped had its benefits, especially against someone whose magic relied on blunt trauma like earth magic.

The next three minutes were defined by the rhythmic clang of Sam's fists under the pretense it was all just a game.

Laxus smirked. "See? Sam doesn't give half a fuck if that kid is bigger and stronger than he is. Get someone like him in a situation like that and size doesn't matter."

Once it was over, Petri was curled up holding his stomach. Sam took a deep breath, turned to find his next prey, and was clocked in the head by a giant ice hammer, knocking him unconscious instantly.

Sergei Bastia felt like this put him at the top, since Petri was stronger than Yuri, and Sam beat Petri, therefore since he knocked out Sam…

Then he got a few more volts to the head than a person could take and remain coherent and the next thing he knew, he was staring at the small feet of the littlest, meanest dragon of all. As he stumbling backward, the final blow was claimed by Lilia Eucliffe as she ran past, unaware of Mavis until she'd already taken the defeat.

"Hey, that's our point!" Mavis growled.

"Oh? Looks like it's ours," Lilia teased.

"Look, one way or another, I'm getting a point," the girl cracked her knuckles.

Lilia laughed and ran her hands through her long lilac curls. "Are you serious?"

"Have you _ever_ heard me tell a joke?"

The duel of the girl dragons ensued, and while Mavis had her on power, Lilia knew her as well as she would have known a blood sibling. Since she'd grown up with the Dreyars, she knew every trick Mavis had tucked up her sleeve and this allowed them to have an extensive, frustrating battle where Lilia was unable to overwhelm her and wasn't overcome either.

Yuri ran past, and he stopped.

And he wondered, was this some kind of hell—how could his beloved and his baby sister be brawling like savage beasts over the unconscious bodies of Sam, Petri, and Sergei? Women were terrible, he was sure of it.

Mavis growled, "Are you a fairy or not?"

"…What…" he mumbled in bewilderment.

In his heart, he knew he was a Fairy, and that it wasn't personal. He couldn't fight for another guild, and he didn't want to walk away either, because as he stood there in decision, it started looking like Lilia might actually win.

This would put him at odds with Mavis. There was only one thing worse than pissing off a female family member, and that was pissing off one's girlfriend.

Choosing between his blood and his love?

Mavis exclaimed, "Don't just stand there, Yuri!"

Lilia stepped on her foot, made eye contact with her boyfriend and said, "If you fight me, I'll tell my dad about _that_."

Yuri took two steps back, knowing Mavis' wrath was nothing compared to what Sting would do if he found out they had a pregnancy scare. Besides, between Mavis and Lilia, he wanted to have sex once the fight was over and whether or not that was going to happen was dependent on his decision right then and there.

"Sorry, Mavis…" he stammered.

Mavis slammed Lilia over her shoulder onto the ground. "You're dead to me, Yuri!"

Yuri watched the fight continue, feeling amazed at how strong his girlfriend was, a little turned on by how hot she was in a fight, and then confused and disgusted by the fact it was his sister tangled up in this amazing mess of hormones.

Lilia was about to win when she was hit from behind.

"I'll save you, my love!" Baby Orga declared as he came to Mavis' rescue.

"I'll just die, thanks though!" the youngest Dreyar answered.

Yuri's flabbergasted state was interrupted by this boy, this poor stupid boy that hit his girl. His girl, who he'd recently had to talk about babies with, and life, and wasn't she just the cutest? At least to him, she was, and Orga took two cautious steps back.

"Uh-oh," Orga mumbled.

Lilia crumbled to the ground. "I'M ON YOUR TEAM, YOU IDIOT!"

Mavis head-butted her brother, deciding that at the moment, he was only her enemy. She had an ally in this fight and it wasn't her Yuri. Besides, they'd learned how to fight by fighting each other, so it was nothing new.

Hailey Lates, the poor, generally unaware, terrified dollfaced girl joined the fray, although once she entered the battle's space, she wasn't sure what to do. But her new friend taught her one thing, so that's what she did—she picked up a crate and hit Yuri in the crotch, showing more strength and tenacity than she felt like she'd ever had.

"Like that?" she nervously asked Mavis.

"Perfect!" Mavis answered.

Yuri crumpled to his knees and was kneed in the face by his irate baby sister as payback for not defending her. "O-Owww….you're so mean."

Mavis growled, "Get up, will you?!"

"Stay down, Kid!" Orga yelled, making a mad dash for Yuri, who was huffing breathlessly.

"Don't talk to trash to my brother, you fuckwit!"

Lucy winced and looked up at her husband. "Did our child just say that? I hate microphones. After this, you hold her down, I'll get the soap."

"It bites. Scratches. Punches. Kicks. Yells bad words," Laxus answered.

"I'll talk to her when we get back. Assuming watching this doesn't kill me. Just look at them, Honey. I've never seen anything like this, ever, and being at Fairy Tail for two decades, I've seen some pretty idiotic things," she said.

Laxus wasn't at all bothered and found it amusing. They may have all been talented and powerful young wizards, but they were all still kids and possessed raging hormones and typical teenage emotions as much as they did their power.

"Behold, I give you…the future."

"God help us," his wife answered.

Anna was looking for someone to fight when she spotted the chaos where many of the other competitors were locked in an every-man-for-himself melee. She caught one glimpse of the madness and froze, but then felt like she had to support her twin.

She took a step forward to join, and heard her sister's voice.

"Don't go anywhere near that mess. The concentration of stupid is so high in the air that you're going to lose some brain cells if you get any closer," Layla said as she stood in the shadows, arms crossed.

Anna asked, "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for Iggy. He's scouting out the competition map to find the others. You can come with us. We're going to nail Ashlock and then clear the rest of the competitors. Sam and Yuri are both down, so you can come with us. I won't have any Fairy Tail team come in last," she said.

Up in the stands, the adults watched with concentrated interest. They'd expected good fights, but instead…

Lucy sighed. "It's like watching a terrible accident happen in slow motion. I thought the two Fairy Tail teams would at least stick together. Geeze. Poor Yuri though. Lost to Petri, got stuck in the color maze, and then got knocked out by a helpless girl in the final event."

"Because he got hit in the nuts with a crate," her husband added.

"My poor baby boy."

The remaining fairies cleared the competition map like clockwork, although Iggy went down during the fight with Ashlock.

The last two competitors left were Anna and Layla, which was a very sharp turn from the way magic world had been functioning for the past two decades.

There were no dragons and there were no boys, which was an enormously unexpected outcome, since dragon-blood had ruled the magic world since their parents became adults.

Once the fight was over and they'd calmed down just a little, the guildmasters gathered their little wizards and took stock of injuries. Stitches, ice, bandages...

Mavis got an ice pack for her swelling eye and found a nice, quiet bench in the hallway of the restricted hallways reserved for the medical rooms of the competitors. And no sooner had she sat down that a certain boy sat down next to her, prompting her to take a long, slow breath.

"There's no escaping you, is there?" she asked, feeling a little calmer than usual.

Orga asked, "Are you okay? Your lip is bleeding."

"I'm fine. Is Master Sting going to be mad you attacked your own guildmate?"

"It's not good to be on Master Sting's bad side. Last time he had Lady Minerva to turn me into a frog. Ashlock put me in a cage and fed me flies for three days," he said.

Mavis smiled at him just slightly. "I think you're a pretty okay person, which is saying a lot. I don't really like strangers. I try really hard to hate you."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Are you nervous? I feel nervous. Right now. A lot. You're not hurting me and I don't really know what to do. Could you hit me or something? I'd feel better," he nervously stammered.

Mavis grabbed him by the hair and pulled him down roughly, sending his feet flying up in the air. Then their lips touched and he almost couldn't believe it.

When she threw him down on the ground, he hit the floor, stunned and breathless as he looked up at her.

"Tell anyone and I'll kill you."

"Mavi…"

Lucy, who was trying to help her husband find and gather the kids together when they only wanted to party, stumbled upon them and Mavis stormed down the hallway as if she was as offended as always past her grinning mother.

The boy stood to his feet, shocked and in a state of awe, but when he tried to chase her, Lucy clotheslined him and he was right back on the floor.

"O-Ow…"

Lucy dug through her purse for a tissue and leaned down to dab smeared blood from around his mouth. "My daughter has a cut on her lip. You have blood smeared on yours, but no wound. If I let you go out there you're going to get in big trouble with her father. And you, sir, are not ready for that."

Orga stood up, and wondered how much trouble the Dreyars really were. His pursuit of Mavis had earned him physical abuse from Mavis, Yuri, and now the saintly, wonderful, revered mother as well.

"Sit with me."

Orga returned to the bench and sat next to Lucy. "Are you mad?"

Lucy put an arm around him and gave him a hug when he was expecting threats or possibly more violence. She wasn't his mom, and he couldn't really remember what it was like to have one, but she was a mom and so it was nice to be squeezed a little. When she finally let him go, he was convinced she probably wasn't going to hurt him anymore.

Lucy said, "I'm glad Mavis has you for a friend. It's hard for girls to grow up, especially a wild girl like her. She has a free spirit. She's not ever going to be the type to sit around and get her hair just perfect. She's not a princess. She's not prissy. If you ever try to change that, her father will be the least of your worries. It takes a real man to love and respect a strong woman, especially a feisty one."

Everyone knew pursuing a Dreyar girl meant contending with the cranky father, but Orga found Lucy's threats far more terrifying than her husband's ever could be, although Laxus hadn't directly come after him yet.

From there, Lucy went back to the task of gathering the kids and get them back to the hotel, but by the time they were all back the kids had moved on to the next source of excitement: a ball at the castle.

Lucy was so ready for the games to be over so they could go home, but at the same time, she dreaded it because once they got home, she had to tell them about her condition and she was dreading it.

Lex was left with Wendy and Chelia in their peaceful room on the top floor of the hotel so she and Laxus could focus on their guild's rowdy kids.

Life became curling irons and mascara and dresses while she helped her daughters get ready in one room while the boys sequestered themselves to the other room.

The girls had all chosen blue dresses, but of varying styles, as Layla couldn't imagine a world without a big dramatic ball dress and Mavis refused to even think of wearing one.

Anna was tall, and leggy for her age, apparently having inherited tall stature from her father's side. Lucy loaned her the dress she'd worn on her first date with Laxus, and couldn't help but tear up once she put it on.

In the other team's room, the boys had gathered and were decidedly less interested and happy to be going to a ball. Iggy was quietly annoyed, Sam was outright pissed, and Yuri really didn't care that much but knew his girlfriend would kill him if he didn't go along nicely.

Laxus joined them to assist with the complicated ceremony of the tuxedo, but found the boys were less than enthusiastic to attend. None of them were dressed, and there was a conflict in progress because Sam had eaten Yuri's razors and Iggy really just wanted to take a nap.

There was a knock on the door, and Petri Nekkis joined the party. His face was all swollen, and he showed obvious signs of having been bludgeoned by hard metal fists, complete with little cuts. He was wearing a classic tuxedo, and had his hair done already.

"What do you want?" Iggy growled before putting a pillow over his head, indicating he really didn't care why Petri was there.

Petri answered, "I came to see my bros. I have a hot date tonight, how cool is that?"

Laxus was standing in the bathroom trying to fix his son's hair, but poked his head out. "Excuse me?"

"Did I say 'hot date?' I meant, 'I am going to politely escort a fine lady to a social gathering.'"

Sam grumbled, "You're so full of shit."

Laxus gave him a shock just for fun and grumbled a random string of obscenities under his breath. "Sam, Iggy, get dressed."

Iggy asked, "Do we have to go?"

Their master sighed. "Iggy, do you know what is going to happen to you if don't? Anna is all dressed up. She expects to be going on a date with a guy. She ends up going alone, she's going to be pissed. You're not ready for that kind of wrath. Besides, she's going to be pissed off at you at a party with a bunch of guys. She's not going to dance by herself."

Iggy jumped out of the bed, seemingly revived. "Fine, fine."

Petri sat on the dresser. "I can't wait to dance. I don't know how to dance, but uhhh…my Layla is just so gorgeous. And fierce. Have you ever met a girl like her? Smart and gorgeous! I feel like I could just watch her. I can't believe a girl like that likes an idiot like me."

Sam bristled and said, "Whatever. She'll be over it in a week."

"What? Do you like her or something?"

"No!"

The tension was palpable, but Laxus knew from the way they were talking that Petri was unaware of Sam's role in Layla's life and that was very upsetting to Sam. He also didn't seem to know anything about what happened with Layla's eye or Sam's arm.

Sam crossed his arms. "She doesn't know what she wants. She changes her clothes six times, so she'll change you out too."

"Enough," Laxus said in a voice that let them know it was time to change the subject, "Petri, go annoy your own people. We have enough idiots already. Iggy, put your pants on. Sam, attitude change, now, then pants."

Lucy entered the room immediately after Petri left and found the boys in their boxers about to get dressed. When they tried to dress quickly, she waved them off. "Please. I changed all your diapers."

Yuri sighed at his mother, not necessarily wanting to have one of those moments. "Hey Mom. What's up?"

"I just came to see how my baby boy was doing. Levy said it was going to be pulling teeth to get you guys to go along, and looks like she was right."

He crossed the hotel room to where his tuxedo was hanging, limping visibly.

"What's wrong, son?"

Yuri did his best to straighten his back, and walk like there was nothing wrong, but that only caused him to wince. "Nothing!"

"My Thunder Baby is hurt? Let Mama see."

"Nope."

Lucy replayed his brief and humiliating battle in her mind. "Did you get hurt when that girl hit you with the crate?"

"Nope."

"Let me see."

"Mom!"

Lucy grabbed the waistband of his boxers and pulled outward, then gazed downward. "Yuri, you need a doctor. I'll get Wendy."

Yuri cringed at the idea not only of his mother examining him for injury, but also at the idea of Wendy having to fix it. "It can heal on its own."

"Look, I want grandchildren someday, and let me remind you that someday is some distant date in the future and not now. You're going to a doctor."

"Mom! No, it's fine. It'll heal on its own. I'll keep it clean."

"That's the sweatiest, most unhygienic area of the body, Yuri."

"Mom!"

Lucy shook her head. "Fine, but remember that one of the most effective treatments for infection is amputation." She dug into her purse for some pills to relieve his pain and said, "Just keep that in mind."

Laxus might have come to his rescue, but he was amused. Their son was such a sweet but awkward character, and it seemed like life just made a point out of putting Yuri in weird and embarrassing situations. It was so very mom-ish of Lucy to be sensitive to his every injury, and also very Lucy-ish that she'd react like that.

Lucy wagged her finger at all the boys. "You guys better be on your best behavior tonight. No attitude, no fighting. And you better not act like you don't want to be there."

The warning was heeded and once they all arrived at the palace and settled into the ball room, the abundance of food largely kept them happy. The king had arranged for young courtesans to be present to compensate for the disproportionate amount of males in the games, but providing girls meant very little to a large group of mostly socially-awkward boys.

They really only cared about the food anyway.

And, amusingly enough, almost none of them knew how to dance properly.

Laxus made sure Yuri knew, so he felt a little proud to watch him dance with Lilia. He was amazingly smooth on his feet, and his parents looked on proudly. It was a relief to see their son have some kind of social activity that he wasn't naturally terrible at.

Elsewhere, Petri stepped on Layla's toes so many times one of her toenails were bleeding, Mavis was making an activity out of not hitting Orga, and Anna was moving slow with Iggy, mostly hugging him and not really dancing.

Laxus approached their oldest daughter and offered his hand. "Care to dance with someone who isn't a lousy klutz?"

Layla gave Petri a dirty look just to make sure he knew they were talking about him and followed her father's lead. "For some reason, it surprises me you can dance, Dad. Mom taught me."

Her father said, "Well, I learned because I was going on a date with a beautiful woman and I didn't want to humiliate myself and earn her wrath. Like that guy."

He tilted his head to indicate Petri.

Layla groaned. "He reminds me of you."

"He's an _idiot_ , Layla."

His daughter sighed. "But I really like him. Mom says if I'm anything like her, I just can't stay away from them."

One of his eyebrows rose as they danced. "I'm suddenly very concerned about how my wife and my child speak of me in my absence."

"You know we love you, Daddy."

She gave him a big hug, and he said, "You've grown so much. I feel like you were just born sometimes, but you're already almost grown. I'm not ready for you to grow up."

"Dad? No matter what, I'll still be your little girl."

"You've grown up so strong. I'm so proud of you. A few months ago, things were different. Scary."

Layla really didn't want to talk about anything that had transpired over the past few months. She might have become better for it, and she wasn't harboring any hate, but she still had memories she struggled to contend with.

Laxus said, "You like him, don't you?"

"Do you?"

"He's all right. Goofy as hell. He seems to have a good nature about him though. He's friendly. He's terribly smitten. But he's also three years older than you."

Layla rolled her eyes. "He's a virgin too, Daddy."

"Wait, what? What have you been talking about?!"

"I didn't want to be with someone who had too much experience."

Her father said, "Don't buy used, do you?"

"Isn't that what I said? Dad, dating a guy who has been with a girl is like buying clothes at the thrift shop. You never know who they've been on," she answered.

Laxus was extremely annoyed by the wordplay and was certain it wasn't accidental, but he chose not to play her game. Instead, he asked, "Did you ask him?"

"Yes, why not? I wanted to know how far he'd gotten. I mean, if he's hit a home run, and I only let him get to second base, well, that won't work."

This subject matter was unnerving to say the least, and he could hardly imagine how weird it would be to have a girl ask for a detailed history. He'd evidently tolerated this interrogation, but Laxus was still annoyed. They'd had a conversation that had addressed the subject of sex.

And then…

"Wait, second base? You would go that far?"

Layla said, "It's not that far, Dad. And I've heard that you and mom were making out after your second date."

"We were also grownups."

"Dad. I'm growing up. Eventually, I'm going to visit all the bases."

"With him?"

"I don't know. I still haven't had a real kiss."

Laxus kissed her forehead. "Hypoethtical question: can a man whose hands have been removed get to second base?"

"Dad, you're all bark and no bite. All the time we were growing up, all you growled about was boys, and now that we have all brought a boy around, you've done nothing. You practically endorsed Iggy dating Anna, you seem to like Petri, and I think you might actually really like Baby Orga."

He gave her a scowl. "Well, you've all made reasonable choices. No criminal records, delinquents, perverts…but then again, they say girls are attracted to men like their fathers."

"That's narcissism."

"I've heard he reminds you so much of me you won't let him kiss you. I can't tell you how amused that makes me."

Layla pulled away. "Well, thanks for the dance, Dad. I need to get back to my date, and you have two other daughters to annoy. And I am getting my kiss. Just for being a jerk, it's going to be a big sloppy tongue kiss. With spit strings."

"That's so disgusting I'm not even annoyed by the fact you might do it. Nobody likes a gross kisser," he answered as he released her to return to her date. He was reasonably sure she wasn't going to get anywhere anytime soon.

Despite having spent her life planning out falling in love, she seemed ill-equipped and unwilling to actually fall when the opportunity had now come to her.

He considered his next victim carefully. Anna was dancing with her head on Iggy's shoulder, which looked a bit silly because she was now taller than he was. And then there was Mavis, who was staring daggers into Orga while he performed a dance of extremely high skill which was appropriate for neither the occasion or mood and did not match the tempo of the music at all.

Lucy giggled and grabbed his arm. "Look at them. Being young adults. Orga's good on his feet. But look at Mavis' face!"

"Mom."

She turned and found her son offering her a dance. She took his hand, and followed him out.

"You're getting so big, Yuri."

"I'm well-fed."

Dancing with him reminded her of dancing with her husband, who was just as light on his feet despite being socially awkward. Yuri didn't always know how to handle social situations, but he knew how to move. He was graceful, strong, and more confident in how he moved than most other things.

"Mom?"

"What is it?"

Yuri said, "Lilia want to move in together next year."

Lucy stopped moving and let go of him.

It was like getting punched in the stomach, and she didn't want to admit that it hurt her like it did. Yuri had reminded her that her babies were growing up and they didn't really need her as much as they once did. She was scared of being sick, and she wanted to focus on her family, but as she was trying to cling, they were all trying to spread their wings.

The whole reason she'd been able to keep it secret was because they were all busy living their own lives.

Yuri had expected his mom to object powerfully to the idea. He expected a lecture about how he was too young, or that he needed to be strong on his own, or…something. His mother didn't take anything badly, but he watched her eyes start watering.

"Mom? Please don't cry."

And then she ran.

He'd never seen her run from anything, ever.

He started to run after her to apologize, to take it back, to tell her he'd change his mind if she just wouldn't be sad, but his father stopped him and told him to stay in the ballroom with the others while he followed her into the castle gardens.

Yuri sat down to watch and scanned the ball room every few seconds. There were a lot of people, and they were talking. A soldier came and tapped Anna on her shoulder, who immediately looked up for her parents.

He jumped up and went to her, and learned from the guards that the king had demanded her presence.

"I don't think so," Yuri said.

The soldier poked a spear at him. "The king isn't to be defied."

"Says who? You can't make us do anything," Layla asked, joining them.

"One baby dragon scream and big daddy dragon fries you and your friends," Mavis added.

"You can come, but if you alert anyone else, it's going to be a hard night for everybody," the guard cautioned.

They led them to the throne room, which was dark and quiet except for King Pilar. He was an elusive figure, rarely seen by anyone, never photographed. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin. He seemed old, and was visibly agitated that he had four Dreyars instead of one.

He shrugged. "Ah, the impenetrable, unstoppable Dreyar brood."

Yuri asked, "What do you want with Anna?"

"I have a book with a key. According to rumors, only the Aquarius key can open it. I'd had it for years. You'll be rewarded handsomely."

He gestured to a huge magic book on the table beside him right next to a steaming cup of tea.

Anna shook her head. "That seems like something only an idiot would fall for. I'm not doing anything like that."

Layla realized it first. "You sent Erigor after her. The Council didn't investigate what happened with Erigor properly, so my parents thought someone hushed up the investigation. They just didn't know of anyone who was looking for a summoner. And when trying to get Anna didn't work, you wanted the lacrima. Both of the things that happened to our family were caused by you."

The king laughed.

"You _are_ a clever girl, just like the say."

King Pilar leaned back on his throne. "Do the little ones know their big brother and sister butchered Sam Redfox's arm?"

Yuri looked over to the twins. "No."

"Do they know you killed a man?"

"No."

The king chuckled. "Well, Thunder Twins, your brother is a beast. He beat a man and electrified him until his brain fried. Then he left the body rotting on some mountain. Hardly what one would expect from a boy like that."

Everybody in the house knew there were some secrets, but when their mother asked them to purposefully remain ignorant, the twins complied because whatever had transpired resulted in Layla's mutilated eye.

"I heard Miss Layla was in dire shape afterward. Eye gouged out with a rock, bleeding internally, snapped ribs from being crushed over and over and over against the ground. Big brother lost his mind and his temper."

Yuri shrugged. "If you're trying to turn us against each other, that's not going to work."

"I want you to open this book for me. I don't care if you're friends or enemies—to me or each other. I don't mind that you've thwarted me twice, and I'm not looking for vengeance. As far as I'm concerned, you did justly within your rights. Now open this book for me, and I'll do you the most important favor of your lives."

Anna glared. "We don't need favors from you."

King Pilar said, "You do, and you apparently don't know it yet. Let's say someone close to you has an illness…a deadly, terrible illness. I have a miracle at my disposal. When you become aware of how much you need that miracle, you will come back. I don't need anyone besides the summoner. You tell any of the adults, and the deal is off the table."

The king stood and gestured for the door. "I'm a patient man. I can wait."

Out in the garden, Laxus found his wife sobbing uncontrollably as she leaned with one arm against a tree. He knew Yuri didn't say anything insulting or hurtful to her, and assumed whatever had come out of his mouth fed into the anxieties she refused to admit she had.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her as tight as possible without suffocating her. "You're all right."

"I don't want the kids to grow up and leave. I want…" she choked back into a full sob.

"Ah, our son the idiot informed you he plans on living with Lilia."

"I don't want him to move out."

Laxus spotted a rock bench and led her to it. "So our kid wants to do something stupid. He's full of feelings and hormones. I don't think he's ready either. I don't think Lilia is ready. Yuri can't stay away from that girl to save his life. He's been that way since he was four. She's his one vice in life. She's a good girl, but hat makes her a vice is that those two can't cool off or slow down."

"If we tell him how stupid of an idea we think it is, he might feel like he has to choose between us and her. I don't want that. I don't think he'd choose us. I don't know what we should do," Lucy admitted.

"Me neither. Let's worry about it later. My mind is at its limit right now."

"Mine too."

He held her again and kissed forehead. "Lucy, Babe, Don't get discouraged. We're going to be okay. You, Yuri, all of us. We're a family. You're the mom. That's the best part, you know."

By the time they reentered the ballroom, their kids had returned and other than seeming on edge, let on no sign anything had taken place. The parents blamed the high hormone density for nerves all around, and not a word was spoken about the king's meeting.

XXX

By the time they got home, those who did not have dragon blood were annoyed half to death by those who were. After several days of fighting and games, a ball, and all the things that happened in between everyone was exhausted, except Lex, who had a mind to have a very lively afternoon.

Laxus took him to the hammock in the backyard, where he planned on taking as much of a nap as he could. The baby, unable to climb out and more than amused to there in the first place, laid in the hammock on his father's chest and chewed a teething ring until he succumbed to a little nap as well.

After he woke up angry, his father ran a finger across his gums and found one pointy little tip beginning to emerge.

"Ah, you're getting teeth. Today, teeth. Tomorrow, shacking up with your girlfriend from preschool. I guess I don't have to worry about that because your Mama would never let you have a girlfriend. Your brother ruined it for you," he said.

"Abababa?"

"Yes. Exactly my thoughts."

"WAAA!"

"Oh, you want food. I thought you liked my company."

Laxus brought him inside and after feeding the baby, made a nice dinner. After dinner, they'd decided to talk to their kids about Lucy's cancer and he was dreading it. His wife had asked him to consider not telling them, but that meant postponing surgeries that were necessary and children who expected their mom to still be on non-stop mode.

They had a big family, and big responsibilities to the guild. He could count on Yuri to help keep an eye on the kids in the guild, and Layla and Anna were amazing academics and knew some accounting already. Mavis was good for entertaining her baby brother—those two could make ugly faces and noises at each other all day and both would call it a great time.

He needed them to step up and fall into those roles, because he had to take more responsibility at the guild. At no point had he ever been a guildmaster without Lucy's fervent support, unmatched intelligence, and encouragement.

Maybe it wasn't fair to rely on one's children for so much, and he wondered how much time they'd be free to just do kid stuff, and then he realized none of them really did kid stuff anymore. Mavis trained like a maniac, Anna and Layla were studiers, and Yuri's interests were of a decidedly _adult_ nature.

Lucy came down the stairs, looking a little bit tired despite her long nap. She kissed her baby, and then her husband. "Did my boys have a good time?"

"Lex is getting his first tooth."

His mother smiled. "My baby is getting so big, yes he is!"

He threw his toy on the floor from his high chair and looked at her expectantly.

"Oh hell no. You're the youngest of five. Mama doesn't play that game."

He yelled, she shrugged.

He yelled again, she turned around and addressed her husband, "So, how are we going to tell them?"

"I don't really think there's a gentle way to say it. No matter how we do it, they're going to react the way they're going to react. Even if we tell them you'll probably be fine, of course they're going to freak out about their mom being ill."

Lucy continued to ignore the baby's screams and sat down at a barstool. "I feel like I'm going to be this huge burden. I don't want it to be like that."

"You're their mother. You carried them inside of you. Gave birth to them. Put up with staying up all night and temper tantrum and chickenpox and everything else. They're old enough to be strong for you now," he said.

Lucy gave him a soft, warm smile. If she had to be going through this, she was glad to have a big, supportive family. She really didn't feel well thanks to the medicine, and she was truthfully very frightened, but in her own home, with her babies and her husband, she could believe it was all going to be okay.

Before the kids awoke from their naps and came down to eat, she laid on the couch with him, resting her head on his lap. He rubbed her back, reassured her, told her he loved her at least a dozen times. Normally, Lucy would have been annoyed with him but she needed it. She needed _him_.

Anna came downstairs with Rai the Exceed first and as Lex was still yelling about the toy he'd thrown on the floor for his mother to pick up, she picked it up for him, washed it, and he immediately threw it back down.

Anna picked up the toy a dozen times. "Is this why you guys were letting him scream?"

"No, we just decided to neglect him. Glad he's not yelling about anything important," their father called.

Anna put the tiger-striped Exceed down on the high chair tray. "You two entertain yourselves."

The Exceed meowed, the baby spoke in his own language of dissatisfied screeches which were followed by happy giggles at the cat.

Their other kids soon followed, and after dinner, and dessert, Lucy said, "We umm…need to have a little family meeting. If you guys could clean up and meet us in the living room."

There were clanging dishes, running water, some bubbles thrown across the room, the sounds of sweeping, playful teasing, and Lucy listened with a contented smile. There were times she was terrified and angry she was sick, and other moments where she was grateful to have come so far.

She and Laxus sat in the living room while they waited for the older kids to finish cleaning up. Her husband stayed right next to her.

"I used to think that the tragedy of my mom's life was that she died young. I wonder now if the thing that really hurt her was having to leave me behind. She didn't ever get to see the person I became. At least I know our older kids—know them as who they are and who they're growing into. My mama only knew me as a tiny child."

Laxus kissed her hair. "You're going to be okay, so don't think like that."

And then, they filed in.

The kids sat on the couch, with Yuri holding Lex on his lap and Rai with Anna. Laxus and Lucy sat on the coffee table, which put them face-to-face with their kids.

It was a family meeting just like the one they'd had a few months before, which prompted Layla to say, "Oh my God, tell me you didn't find another baby."

"Not a baby," Lucy quickly answered.

And then:

Silence.

Lucy said she wanted to tell them herself, but when it came down to it, she couldn't. Her sweaty hand clutched her husbands, making a silent request he heard and complied with immediately.

"Kids, we have something important we need to tell you…"

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	55. The News

The words were heavy. They tasted stale, and unquestionably bitter:

"I have breast cancer."

Lucy thought about prefacing the declaration with some encouraging words about how everything was going to be okay, but she knew her kids were human like she was, and everything that was said before and after would pale beside the word 'cancer.'

They all reacted differently, and none of it was pretty.

Yuri instantly felt guilty for the bomb he'd dropped on her, and then even more guilty when he thought back and realized some part of him had at least noted she'd been taking naps and she'd seemed dizzy too. That meant he hadn't realized his own mother was sick because he was busy thinking about himself and his own life.

Layla had the greatest amount of sheer intellectual ability, so she wanted to find some semblance of peace by understanding exactly what was going on. She started asking questions about the diagnosis and the treatments, and she filled her mind with new facts and words and phrases rather than letting herself think about the fact her mother was gravely ill.

Anna just hugged her mother and didn't say anything at all, because the part of her that was inherently noble and wise forbade her from reaction.

Mavis' little heart pounded furiously, palms sweating profusely as she tried to process this information. She settled on the most comfortable method of digestion: denial.

"You can't be sick, Mom. You're too strong," she argued, her voice cracking.

Her eyes watered, and she fought the urge to cry, because there was a rule somewhere that she didn't cry, ever, for any reason. Mavis hadn't even cried when she broke her arm as a kid.

But she started thinking about when Makarov got older and there were strange words and medicines and then one day, he vanished from their lives permanently. Mavis thought back to how it felt back then, and how she'd walk past the empty bedroom, and take a deep breath just because his scent lingered for awhile afterward. Then gradually, it faded.

They thought of him less and less as their lives went on, until she felt guilty about how infrequently she felt that sting.

The idea that her mother could disappear from their lives was absolutely unfathomable to her.

Lucy held her hands and said, "I'm going to be okay."

Mavis fought hard, but the only response she had to this was a sob as she broke down into tears, which had a chain reaction. She was the toughest and yet most fragile at the same time, and couldn't remember ever feeling as vulnerable as she did right then.

Her mother squeezed her hands. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay to be scared. You know, I'm your mom, and I have to let you guys go on jobs and get into fights. I know you're in danger sometimes. I know you get hurt sometimes. But I have to have faith in you all to win your battles, so have faith in me to win mine, okay?"

Laxus put his arm around his wife and nodded. "Your mom is a fighter. Smart, vicious, strong, and she never gives up. We're not a normal family. You guys get most of your stubborn, combative, and mean traits from her."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "What he said."

The children looked to their father then, and they tried to read his reaction. What they could determine was that he already knew, and that he was trying his best to be calm. They relied on him for strength, and he found it a little ridiculous, because he felt Lucy was so much stronger than any of them in that moment in their family.

Lucy said, "The first step for me is surgery. I decided to schedule it as soon as possible. So on Friday, I'm going to have a surgery where surgeons are going to remove my breasts."

Layla answered, "You've always had good boobs, Mom."

"Great boobs. Now full of cancer. Not hard to let 'em go. Besides, I'm getting closer to the age where having large breasts starts being more of a downside than upside. And by downside, I mean just wait until you see what gravity, time, and four babies can do," she said, making light of her troubles by telling them the same things she told herself.

Yuri wiggled a little at the idea of his mom talking about her breasts in front of him, but he didn't say anything. He wanted to apologize to her, and beg her for forgiveness for hurting her at the ball. He didn't want his mom to be sick, or to need surgery, or to be in any kind of discomfort at all.

Once they were finished talking, they sent the kids up to bed and, as a couple, tucked each one in.

Mavis was taking it the worst, but she _was_ effectively the baby of the oldest children. Being peculiar in comparison to what most people expected from a pretty girl, she'd grown up very reliant on her mother's affirmation and encouragement to be herself.

Anna was quiet, more rational, and she was thinking constantly about the king's words. She wanted to believe in her mother's abilities, and she wasn't ready to have a hysterical reaction. Her twin was very much her opposite, and she found their reactions proved that as much as anything else.

Layla had an easier time, as she believed her mother to be bulletproof, a source of neverending power that no force in all of creation could hinder. She loved her mother, but after going through her own difficult times, knew that a woman had to be strong on her own. She believed in her mother.

Lucy didn't really want to talk about cancer anyway, and had much more pressing issues on her mind.

She flopped down on the bed and said, "Honey, we need some girl time."

That meant periods or boys or some other subject manner Laxus preferred to be spared from anyway, so he shrugged, kissed his daughter goodnight, and went on to their son's bedroom.

Once he was gone, Lucy said, "So?!"

"So what?"

"Layla, don't hold out on me. I need to know what happened. With Sam. With Petri! My love life is fantastic, but I've had the same amount of excitement for a while. Your little drama is more interesting to me than it should be. I'm dying to know," she said.

Layla smiled. "Mom, you're the best."

"Well?"

Her daughter asked, "What do you want to know?"

"Do you like Sam even a little? I know you have to. You guys were adorable little babies, always together," she said.

Layla explained, "I don't think he's a bad person, but what happened isn't one of those things where everyone says they're sorry and things are fine."

Lucy had suspected as much. "You get that from your father. Forgive, but never forget."

"Gams was like that too. He kept a list of all his enemies, and the things they'd done."

This was news to Lucy, as she'd always viewed Makarov as one of the most forgiving, kind individuals she'd known.

"Are you still mad at Sam?"

"Not mad. Just not ever going to let him be close again."

Lucy nodded in understanding. "And Petri?"

Layla said, "He's a really cool guy, Mom. We almost kissed. Almost. He headbutted me and I fell in the pool. That was after he spent all night stepping on my toes. Kind of a disappointment. He seemed really distracted and disappeared in the middle of the ball to go be a boy or something."

"Boys really are helpless in a way. They grow up so much slower. You're probably more grown up now than Petri is going to be in his twenties. He might become a little more responsible, but if you think he's ever going to be a real adult, I challenge you to observe your father for a full twenty-four hours."

The two giggled, and Layla leaned her head on her mother's shoulder. "I just know you're going to be okay, Mom. You've been itching for a good fight lately anyway, right?"

"Not really the kind of fight I like, but we choose some of our battles, and some of our battles choose us. I'd rather beat the crap out of somebody, that's for sure," she answered.

In Yuri's room, Laxus was sitting on the edge of the bed listening to his son make his guilty confessions with a concerned expression. What bothered him wasn't that he'd thought about his foolish ideas and realized they were foolish; he only felt bad that he'd hurt his mother's feelings.

He finally said, "Son, your mom and I aren't upset for ourselves. We think it's a terrible idea that'll hurt you and Lilia."

"How?"

"You're not finished growing up. You're going to change a lot in the next few years. Being in a relationship that serious at your age isn't a good idea."

Yuri said, "I don't care about it, really. Mom's sick. That's what matters now. Everything else can just not matter right now."

His father answered, "Your hormones and feelings aren't going to go away just because of that. It might take a while for your mom to get better. I want to tell you something, just between us, because I think it might help you."

"What is it, Dad?"

"If I had my whole life to live over again, there's a lot I'd probably change. I'd be less of an asshole. I'd cause less grief for Gramps. I'd be less of a pain to the guild early on. I'd wait longer before getting married. Your mom was young, Yuri. And when we fell in love, we fell so hard we got into a big hurry. We were in a rush to start our lives together, and then to start a family. And somehow, while she was pregnant and taking care of you guys, all her teammates passed her up. They went on adventures. She stayed home. They became S-Class while she was taking care of you guys."

He watched his son register regret at the fact his mother had given up so much to raise them. She'd never complained, and never let on that there was ever anything else she'd rather be doing, but he knew she was a powerful wizard in her own right.

Laxus said, "Then when Gramps had his heart attack, he asked your mother to give it up completely. We were married. We had a family. She put me before her. I don't know if she has any regrets. I just think a woman needs time to be on her own for a while. I worry about that with your sisters, that they'll get all tied up with someone and end up in a situation where they have to postpone their dreams because they get too serious too soon, or get pregnant too soon. Lilia has a lot more to lose than you do. So, just let her grow up a little more."

He ruffled his son's hair, and Yuri asked, "What about Mom?"

"Don't worry about Mom. She's a fighter. And also, worrying doesn't accomplish anything. It causes mistakes. It'll make her more upset if you're anxious, so just believe in her and help out however you can, especially with your other siblings. You're a good kid. You'd do us all a big favor if you'd just slow down, most of all Lilia."

Lucy came in and kissed him goodnight, more than capable of perceiving an important discussion had taken place. There were certain things she felt were left to father and son, and she always trusted her husband to teach Yuri the right way to do things. Their son was a good man, even if he was young and a little too excited to grow up.

From there, they kissed Lex goodnight and headed up to bed, where they got ready for bed and she snuggled up to him.

"You're a good dad."

"You're a good everything."

Lucy listened to the sound of his heart beating. "I love you so much. I can't imagine how my life would have turned out if you weren't in it. I feel like I don't have to be afraid if you're with me."

Laxus wrapped himself around her. "I won't let anything happen, I promise."

She leaned up to kiss him, once and then again, and when their tongues intertwined, her hand slid across his bare chest and then down into his boxers. When he gasped, she grinned a little and watched him eagerly wriggle out of his boxers.

Her body was sore, and she didn't really feel like sex, but she knew he still had his own needs. Even if he hadn't said a word about it, or even hinted, or circled her like a shark as was normally his custom, she knew him well enough to know he needed a little attention.

Laxus was careful and as gentle as possible as they kissed and she stroked him. "Can I touch you?" he whispered against her ear.

"Not tonight."

He went soft in her hand almost immediately, and she reached over and turned on the light.

"Can you just let me, Honey? I know you've got to be horny," she said.

Laxus shook his head and pulled his boxers back on. "It's not that. It's hard for me to keep my head in the game when I know you're not feeling well. We've been together for ages. We always do it together. I don't want to do it by myself, or for you to get me off while you don't feel good. It's okay."

She rolled over and turned the lights out. "I just want to be able to take care of you, that's all. What kind of wife can't meet her husband's needs?"

"My needs are all met. I've always been very satisfied and you have always been a perfect wife. What would make me happiest right now is for you to focus on getting better. And know that when you do, I'll give you no mercy. It'll be like when we first started fucking. Everywhere, all the time."

The door cracked open and Mavis came in and used lightning form to phase through their bed until she was right between them.

Laxus blinked in disbelief. "Okay, hell no. You are way too old and way too mean to crawl into our bed."

"Mom, I had a bad dream."

Mavis barely got in the bed with them when she was little, so it was beyond bizarre to see it now when she was half-grown, but she was also taking the news considerably worse than anyone else was. Lucy always knew best how to handle her, so when she wrapped her arms around Mavis, he turned out the lights and attempted to sleep, only to have her kick and scratch him with her toenails in her sleep until he finally gave up and went to sleep in her room.

There was a smell that disturbed him consistently and prevented him from slumber, and when it bothered him enough he turned the lights on and searched for the source. Her room reeked of Baby Orga, which was quite a mystery as Laxus believed Baby Orga had never been in their house.

He made more of a mess than Mavis would appreciate until he found the source of the smell, which happened to be a sweatshirt with the Sabertooth emblem on it.

He didn't know if it was possible for a person to be so clearly teetering between being a kid and being a young adult. On one hand, she was nursing a crush that had been very unwanted at first, and on the other, she was terrified and behaving like a child at the revelation that her mother was sick.

He finally went to sleep and awoke, dressed quietly while Mavis and Lucy slept snuggled up in the bed, and went downstairs to find Yuri and Anna. They were in the kitchen cooking a big breakfast while Lex sat in his high chair and made serious demands in a language no one understood but him to Rai the Exceed, who kept slapping his cup around.

Laxus pointed and said, "Settle down, big guy. You're not the boss of anybody yet."

Anna poured him some coffee, offered him the newspaper, and said, "We're going to serve Mom breakfast in bed."

Laxus nodded. "She's had a weird appetite, so if she doesn't feel like eating, don't take it too personally."

Yuri asked, "How did we not realize she was even sick?"

"Because she didn't want you to know. There's no reason to feel any kind of way about it. Nothing that's happening is anybody's fault," their father answered.

Anna said, "Dad, we have something important decided we would tell you, even though we were told not to. It's about Mom. And us. And the king."

She recounted the meeting with the king while she mixed pancakes, as if it was a completely mundane and normal thing. Anna had been injured by the king's plans once before, and Yuri and Layla had certainly been swept up in the chaos as well.

Laxus was enraged, but he hid it well.

The older kids were at an important age, but with the exception of Mavis, they'd all been injured somehow or another by the king. This time, his threats were clear, and he held the life of their mother over their heads and demanded they do his bidding.

There was something about their meeting with the king that was more telling than the king probably intended. The king wore the 'ceremonial pumpkin mask' during the games, and no one seemed to know what he looked like. But he'd shown himself to the kids, indicating he was concerned about being recognized.

During the games, even his scent wouldn't have been able to betray him because there were thousands of other scents present.

Laxus found Anna's decision to tell to be wise beyond her years. She was a loyalist, noble, and the best friend someone could ask for, but he could tell from the look in her eyes that she had no intention of making big mistakes and she wasn't going to let the king take advantage of her.

"I'll take care of this. The king doesn't have a cure for cancer. If he did, he wouldn't come to you guys. He could get bigger favors out of me and I would provide them without argument," he said.

Yuri asked, "What are you going to do?"

Laxus shrugged. "We're not going to do anything. He's the king. We can't move first. What does the king look like? He might be someone we know. An enemy."

Anna answered, "That's the weird thing. We're all sure we've seen his face, but none of us remember what it looks like. He was powerful. I remember the hair on the back of my neck stood up."

The father thought for a while and said, "I don't want any of you venturing out beyond Magnolia for a while. And Anna, if he wants you…I can't have that. I'll start a war over you if things go the wrong way. I don't really want you to leave the house unless you're with someone packing a lot of heat."

"Like Yuri?"

"Like Natsu. Erza. Gajeel. Gildarts."

Anna made him a plate of food. "I wanted you to say maybe he knew something. Maybe we could do something and Mom wouldn't have to be sick—that she wouldn't have to have surgery or take medicine."

Yuri looked equally disappointed, and their father said, "There are some struggles you can't escape from. Magic is a powerful thing, but it won't save you all the time. We don't get to pick all our fights. I don't want your mother to be sick either. I'm so mad and there's nobody for me to hit, so that's hard for me."

Yuri asked, "Are you okay, Dad?"

"I don't even know how to operate without your mother, but she's braver than any of us, so I know she'll be okay."

Anna reached into a cabinet for a tray and started to put together their grand meal for their mother.

Laxus said, "You might want to load up the plate. Your twin decided she is still a hatchling and spent the night in bed with your mother."

His daughter added more food to the plate. "Not surprising."

Anna and Yuri were his calmest, most level-headed and responsible children, so it wasn't surprising to find them trying to make breakfast for everyone. Mavis and Layla were wildcards every day of the week, although they'd responded very differently to the news of their mother's sickness. Layla didn't believe cancer was a formidable enemy for her mother and Mavis was clinging to Lucy shamelessly.

Laxus took a piece of scrambled egg, blew on it, and offered it to his spoiled baby son, who chomped it right out of his fingers, gumming him in the process. "You better watch it, kid. You better not start biting me. I've had two biters. I'm smarter now. I'll bite you back."

Lex opened his mouth, and Anna said, "Mom will kill you for feeding him people food. He's not ready."

"I actually know a thing or five about babies, in case you forgot. All of you ate your first real food with me," he answered.

Yuri said, "I feel like he's getting big really fast."

"That's what kids do. You too. I remember when you were first born. Itty, bitty little thing. Lex is in a hurry to get big and do big boy stuff, just like you, you know."

Anna and Yuri carried the breakfast tray upstairs, where Lucy and Mavis were sound asleep, sleeping closely intertwined.

Mavis sat up and growled when she realized they'd been disturbed, and then flopped back down.

Lucy sat up and stretched. "You guys are too sweet to me."

The terrible thing about cancer was knowing a horrible thing was going on, but not really having any normal course of action to take. The kids felt helpless, and all they had was breakfast. In fact, when they thought about the king, Yuri and Anna realized the king was just trying to manipulate their helplessness.

Lucy was a little nauseated from medicine, so she mostly picked at the food in the politest manner and sent them on errands to get things for her, like salt, or pepper, or a glass of milk rather than orange juice. When they were both gone, she shoveled food into Mavis as quickly as possible.

Her daughter had dragon blood, so her stomach was like an endless, bottomless pit. She had a little more self-control than the males did, but it was not uncommon to see her eat more than a grown man.

"You know what I dreamed last night?" she asked as she spooned eggs into Mavis.

"Hmph?" Mavis asked, mouth full of food.

Lucy said, "I dreamed you had eight kids. They all had green hair."

Her daughter swallowed her food and said, "Me? Please. You'll be lucky if you get one. I assume I'll probably get unlucky at some point and end up pregnant, but I doubt very seriously anything entering or exiting my vagina is going to have green hair."

Laxus entered with a bewildered expression. "Well, that was an unfortunate moment to enter the conversation. But I have a very serious question—why do you only scratch and bite _me_ while you are sleeping?"

"Why would bite and scratch my mom?" Mavis asked.

"Why would you bite and scratch your father?" he replied.

She dismissed his question. "Who knows? I was asleep."

Yuri and Anna returned, and piled on the bed with their mother and visibly bloated sister.

The doorbell rang, and Laxus went down to answer it, only to find a most unwelcome face.

Petri Nekkis was standing outside his door in a travelers cloak, sporting a brown leather bag and his big, flashy white grin. "Hey, Boss."

"Did you want something?"

The seventeen-year-old asked, "How's my baby?"

"Your what?"

"The love of my life?"

"Try again."

"Cutest girl in the world?"

"Idiot," the girl's father mumbled as he slammed the door in the young man's face.

From the other side of the door, he heard, "That's not a nice thing to say to your future son-in-law!"

Laxus opened the door again and asked, "You seem like a happy person, but you do things that make me think you actually want to die. Layla doesn't wake up for another two hours, so get lost, will you?"

Petri answered, "I'm not here to see Layla. I came for you. I need help."

With this, Laxus opened the door and let him in, and the boy followed him to the living room and opened his bag as he sat, laying out a series of folders with confidential stamps from the Magic Council.

"My dad won't let me visit him. He said it wasn't safe, but nothing else. So I started investigating, and I broke into his old office. He was investigating King Pilar before he became king, and he requested access to some documents right before he was fired. I found out they were being stored at the East Tower in Crocus," he said.

The older wizard saw the files were clearly stamped as top secret and property of the file archive at the East Tower, a place so secretive it was practically regarded a myth. "How in the hell did you get these?"

"I stole them."

"From the East Tower…"

He nodded.

Laxus believed it would probably be easier to steal a ton of gold from the treasury than rob the Magic Council, but the kid had clearly done it.

"When?"

"During the ball. Everyone was looking at the castle. There was minimal guard detail. I slipped out, stole the files…"

"And came right back. I didn't notice you'd left and trust me, I was keeping a pretty close eye on you."

Petri opened one of the files, "My dad became suspicious of the king over a date. These files…you have to sign before you look at them. The Magic Council keeps track of young wizards that are likely to became important later on. Pilar looked at _all_ the Fairy Tail files. He used his status as a military adviser to order reports and briefs to be added whenever they would go on jobs, citing 'suspicion.' So the Council investigates in secret like a crime has been committed, and even if it hasn't, they're recording information."

"Your father knew Pilar was collecting information on Fairy Tail."

"He signed his name on Anna's file three days before the attack. And the guy that did it? After he got better, he was moved out of the Magic Council's control to be forced to serve in some secret military operation that's supervised by Pilar. Erigor came to the East Tower and he took Layla's file after that."

Laxus asked, "Erigor is out? He's a chronic problem for our guild. I'll hunt him down myself."

"Erigor is dead. He died from magic poisoning. His body was mutilated by Bluenote Stinger. He stole the file and something from Erigor's body. Whatever killed him. The lacrima, right? And he brings it here and offers it to Sam, who turns on Layla. Bluenote Stinger ends up dead, and Pilar wants his lacrima back. Layla is involved by accident because of Bluenote Stinger, who wants…the files don't say. Anna is the real target."

Laxus crossed his arms and watched as the boy put the pieces together.

Petri said, "The files my dad requested were about a book. The book is called Nautici Rex. It was written by Zeref, sealed by Anna Heartfilia, and gifted to Mavis Vermillion. The last known owner was Makarov Dreyar, but it was reported destroyed during the Phantom Lord raid."

"It was ours? That's suspicious as hell."

The older wizard was quiet for a long time, because he was sure there were dots to connect, but he wasn't sure what they were or how to connect them. Whatever was going on with the king was apparently deeply personal, and it seemed to be centered around his family, although it wasn't clear if that was coincidental or intentional.

One thing he knew was the kid before him wasn't someone he ever wanted as an enemy. He was going to crack wise about recruiting him into Fairy Tail when he realized the guild mark was missing from his arm.

Petri rubbed his bare arm. "Oobasama says she can't protect Lamia Scale if I get caught."

"Calling what you did 'risky behavior' would be a massive understatement. It's high treason. The Magic Council can execute you legally for this. Come with me," he said.

Laxus took him to the kitchen and made him a plate of food. "You look like you forgot to eat and sleep for a while. You can take a nap. Downstairs in the living room. Don't be sneaky with me. I'll break your legs. I'll figure out what to do with you later."

He watched the kid eat and then collected the documents and took them to his study. Lucy could probably put it together, but she was days away from her mastectomy and she was sick. He refused to involve her. He didn't want any of the kids to see the files, because their mere existence was proof a crime punishable by execution had been committed by the uninvited guest he soon heard snoring on the sofa.

It was embarrassing to admit, but he'd been outsourcing a lot of mentally-involved things to Lucy for a long time. She was so smart she could just look at stuff and know, but he didn't really have that gift. All he had was a series of events that were spawned by one stupid book which used to be in possession of Fairy Tail.

The Phantom Lord raid had never made much sense, so it wasn't useful to link to the book. Even if the guild had successfully crushed Fairy Tail, the Magic Council would have abolished it. Defeating Fairy Tail was not a plan for the future. History had not seen fit to reveal what might have actually happened at the end.

He wrote down the events on a list and started to cross out everything that was senseless or had no purpose.

Lucy's father went to Phantom Lord to kidnap Lucy, and in the commission of that, probably disclosed she had the Aquarius key. At this moment, and none other, Jose Porla sprung at the chance and attacked Fairy Tail and had it demolished. The destruction of the guild allowed for the opportunity for him to take the book and have it assumed lost forever. With Lucy and the Aquarius key, he had a golden opportunity to use the book.

Except everything went wrong and Lucy dropped her keys during the kidnapping.

He probably realized during her incarceration she'd never open the book, so he had to wait.

Then Anna came along.

That meant the most likely suspect to have that book was Jose Porla. Maybe he was the king, maybe he was controlling the king. Laxus considered whether it was possible the king was one of his shades, no more than a being composed of dark magic.

Layla appeared at the entrance to study shortly before noon. "Good morning. Mom's asleep, so I came to see what you're doing."

"Your mother is sick."

"She'll be fine. I can't believe my mother is capable of being weak. She just needs a little rest," his daughter insisted.

"Right."

Layla hadn't mentioned the meeting with the king and didn't seem to be aware Yuri and Anna had told. Mavis had also omitted this, and he found it beyond bothersome. But they were all individuals and they thought and felt different ways about different experiences.

Mavis, for her instinctive need to agitate, was actually very good at staying out of any real trouble.

Anna was careful, introspective, and more open.

Layla was unpredictable, difficult to read, and subject to her powerful mood swings.

Yuri had the best judgment in most areas of his life except one.

The cancer, the pressure from the king, and all the other external sources of stress were extremely unwelcome, and it was hard for Laxus to determine what the most immediate problems were. Or, how the kids were supposed to live normal lives or have normal feelings with everything. They were supposed to start school again in a couple of weeks, and he didn't even want to imagine what kind of impact life was going to have on their studies.

"Layla."

"Yes, Daddy?"

He pulled a drawing of Makarov's book out. "Is this the book King Pilar had?"

Layla paled at her father's question, because it meant her father knew about their meeting with the thing. She nodded and broke eye contact.

Her father sighed. "You can trust me. Layla, you're a great kid, but I don't want you to get hurt. Please don't keep secrets from me. Please."

"What's going to happen?" she asked.

Laxus said, "I will deal with this. It's not something for you. I just want you to be able to be a normal kid sometimes. Mom will be fine. And King Pilar…I'll deal with that. Trust me, he's not going to hurt you guys anymore. I'm a father. An angry one. And unlike most of the people he's hurt, I don't have to let him get away with it."

"He's the king, Dad."

"It didn't save Zeref, and it won't save Pilar either. Let me worry about that."

Layla suddenly gave him a hug of near rib-cracking force, and he wrapped his arms around her. "Everything is going to be fine. You're all right."

The hug felt like it lasted forever and he finally said, "Really, everything is going to be fine."

The dramatic little blonde said, "I'll never let go of you, Daddy!"

"Petri Nekkis is asleep on our couch."

With that, she let go and ran off immediately, feet plodding down the stairs at hyper-speed.

He periodically checked in on Lucy, who remained asleep, and on the kids as they all continued to cope in their own ways. Layla forced herself to be occupied with the very obvious source of distraction, Yuri went to the library and came home with a bunch of books about cancer, Anna studied a magic book, Mavis went to the guild to run an errand for him, and Lex was blissfully unaware that anything at all was wrong.

After a while, he went to their bedroom and laid down next to her, wishing that they could have peace even just for a day. She snuggled up in her sleep, accustomed to the feeling of her husband's embrace. They'd always been like this; they'd never gotten to a point where there was his side of the bed and hers. They slept tangled up together, always. It was the only way that felt right, and he was too scared to think about what it would be like if he ever had to sleep by himself again.

Lucy awoke that afternoon feeling relatively well-rested. Her husband was there, just watching over her, and she smiled at him and stretched up to kiss him. "Hey Honey."

"You feelin' okay, Babe?"

She nodded and sat up. "It's so weird. I have this thing inside of me that'll kill me, but everything is still going on. Life is still happening. How are the kids doing?"

"They're dealing."

"You look worried," she said.

"I'm fine."

Lucy frowned at him. "You can still talk to me. About stuff. You can't really protect me from anything. You can't keep secrets from me just because I'm sick. It won't help."

Her husband knew she wasn't going to let him get away with not still trusting her as his confidant and partner. "Lucy, I love you."

"I love you too, now tell me what's wrong."

Laxus sat up and kissed her. "We'll talk tonight, okay? I have some things to figure out, and when I'm done thinking, I'm probably going to cause more trouble than this guild has been in for a long time."

"I trust you. Whatever you do, you do to protect the guild. Look at who has been hurt? There's a limited number of times our babies can get hurt and we don't hurt back. Whoever or whatever…just give 'em hell for me, okay?"

They kissed again and spent the next hour snuggling and reminiscing about better times: when they were first falling in love, when they were newlyweds expecting a baby, when their house was full of babies…

Then she had to take her medicine and started throwing up not long after.

He held her hair, rubbed her back, and offered her water and mouthwash and crackers, but he just felt powerless and angry.

When Lucy's stomach finally settled, he carried her back to the bed and watched her fall back asleep.

It had been a while since he'd been in a massive fight, and King Pilar seemed like a good target to take his aggression out on.

By the time he went back downstairs, it was early evening. Petri was in Layla's room, and he abruptly opened the door (just in case he might catch them doing anything he would otherwise disapprove of) and found them sitting on the floor playing cards with Lex, who was chewing on the cards.

"Leave this door open."

"Dad!"

"Little Dude is our chaperone, Mr. D."

He cringed and pointed at his daughter first. "Not in the mood to argue. He's a sneaky son of a bitch and it'll just make me feel a little better," and he pointed to Petri, "if you ever call me that again, I'll hit you so hard you forget your own name."

Mavis had returned from her errand so he decided to leave them alone for a while, and after she handed him a small sack from his desk at the guild, he made her sit with him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Dad."

Since things were a little bit heavy, he decided to tease her a little. "I found a sweatshirt in your room that stank like boy sweat. I threw it in the wash."

"You didn't!" she quickly replied, "I mean…I don't care if you did!"

He smiled gently at her. "You like that boy's scent?"

"No! It's just a warm sweatshirt. It's cozy. So I took it from him! He didn't offer. Obviously I don't accept gifts from boys, especially not idiots!" she indignantly answered.

"But you kiss idiots?" he asked in amusement.

"I take after my mother. My mom likes to kiss guys who are idiots."

Her father said, "The only man who has ever kissed your mother is me."

"I know that, Dad."

She gave him an innocent smile, and he raised his brows, until his forehead wrinkled.

Mavis' expression suddenly fell. "His mom died."

To a kid who had never had to consider life without a mother, finding out someone didn't have a mother didn't mean much at the time. Maybe it was sad, but it wasn't until right then that she considered how terrible it must have been to have grown up all along with no mom. She considered all the important things she relied on her own mother for, and how afraid she was to lose her, and realized that irritating boy had lived all his life without Mom.

Mavis flinched. "My mom could die."

"She won't."

Laxus pulled her into a hug, and she melted into it. "It's going to be okay. Your mom is going to be fine. And you can sleep in your own bed."

"But Mom is so warm and soft."

"She's _my_ warm and soft thing. You are a wild thing with sharp toenails and pointy elbows," he argued.

Mavis replied, "If I can smell her, then I know she's there and everything is fine."

She looked like she might cry if she had to discuss the subject anymore, so he hugged her again and held her like that for a long time. He couldn't imagine how confusing or weird it must have been to be any one of his kids, dealing with wizarding drama, being a normal teenager, and trying to accept the fact that Lucy was ill all at one time.

He made soup for Lucy, and ordered pizzas for the kids.

Even though the guild needed his attention, he'd stayed home all day. He and Lucy had done everything for the guild, and it was such a regular part of their lives, but right now, he just needed to manage what was going on at home. Between Natsu, Erza, and Mirajane, there wouldn't be any trouble with the guild.

When he brought the soup upstairs, he found his wife puffy-faced, red-eyed, but still for the moment.

Lucy ate the soup, and they talked about the files, and she felt relieved that her husband would still talk to her about things that really mattered. It helped in some way the distinct feeling that she'd descended into the deepest parts of hell, a place where she was a burden and a cause for worry and fear for the family she'd spent so much of her time and her heart building up.

Truth be told, she hadn't felt so bad that she couldn't have gotten out of bed and done something productive. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to face the world for some reason. It was easier to stay in bed and sleep than face her wounded family and that made her feel ashamed too.

So she cried, and cried, until she felt empty, and then she went back to sleep.

It wasn't hard for him to realize she was depressed and anxious, so pointing those things out to her didn't have any purpose. He didn't want to be the kind of asshole that says a lot of empty words of 'comfort.'

Cancer was a nightmare in the middle of their wonderful, beautiful marriage, and if they didn't have a houseful of kids and a guild to look after, he felt like he might have stayed in bed with her all day and grieved how wretched it really was.

Lucy willed herself to get out of bed and made her way quietly down the hall to Lex's room, knowing he was too young not to get some time in with mom. He wasn't there, but she found him sleeping in the middle of Layla's bed, surrounded by playing cards with single-tooth bite marks and baby toys. There was a blanket thrown over him to keep him warm, and he look like he'd partied as hard as a baby can until he fell asleep.

Laxus followed her, trying to convince her everything was fine, and when she saw her baby was quite all right, she said, "You're right. They could be just fine without me…"

"Don't be ridiculous. We all need you," he answered.

Lex stretched his arms up at the sound of her voice and whined, then clung to her happily when she picked him up.

The other kids had all moved downstairs, and were playing a board game.

Lucy sat with them, holding her clingy, drowsy baby, and watched. Jokes were made, and she found herself laughing.

And then she remembered this was the way their family always was: they stuck together, good times and bad. When Lilia and Yuri broke up briefly, or when Layla had been hurt, or when Makarov died, they always stuck together.

It took a lot of courage to enjoy life when they had reasons to be afraid, and Lucy was so proud of them for that. She was grateful they were there to remind her how strong and great their family really was. They all had their own strengths and together, their strengths all blended together to form the fabric of their outstanding family.

Being with them made her feel happy and strong, and it gave her enough encouragement to snap her out of the despair that had seized her. Of course, she had to fight and she would win, because she was part of that fabric too.

Lucy felt better, happier, lighter, and like a weight had lifted from her shoulders, even if it was just for a little while. After the game was over, all the pizza was eaten, and messes were cleaned up, Lucy put her near-comatose baby son to bed and kissed her kids goodnight, then showed Petri to the guest room.

When he was putting the sheets on the bed, Laxus leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms. "You're right across the hall from Layla. But you have to walk past my room to get there and you'll never make it, so don't try."

Petri nodded. "I'll be good. Enough people want me dead. I don't really know what to do about that."

Laxus opened the sack Mavis brought him when the kid was trying to smooth out his sheets and smacked him on the his left arm, causing him to jump and cover it with his other hand.

Then he saw a black Fairy Tail guild emblem.

"You can't just put me in your guild! You didn't even ask."

The guildmaster said, "No other guild is going to take you. You committed high treason. You're an enemy not only of the Magic Council, but of the king, and you're obviously reckless as hell. You're practically radioactive, but you have skills I want at my disposal, and that mark on your arm will protect you from mysteriously disappearing if you leave Magnolia. You can move into the dorm tomorrow, and decide what you want to do once this is all resolved."

Petri looked up and nodded. "Thanks. I wasn't really sure what to do. Either do what's right or do what's right for me…it's not hard, right?"

"You're young and reckless and crazy, but you're smart and talented. Just don't get yourself killed and you'll be fine."

Laxus gave him a pat on the head and Petri asked, "What does your guild call you? I called Oobasama Grams. Maybe Gramps?"

"I'm not anyone's Gramps," he answered in irritation.

Petri smiled and said, "If I hang around here for a few years—"

Laxus put his hand over the boy's mouth. "I don't want to hear the rest of that sentence. Go to bed or get your neck snapped. Your choice."

"Goodnight then."

Laxus shook his head as he turned out the lights. "Try to sleep off some of the idiot if you can."

Yuri was asleep when Laxus got to his room, but the books about cancer look like they'd never even been opened. He wanted to know about what was happening, yet he was scared of it, so the books remained untouched.

Layla and Anna were staying up talking in Anna's room, and he kissed them goodnight, but left them to continue.

He went back to his bedroom to find Lucy in the shower, giving him time to switch out the comforter and put on 'the green one he hated.' He folded up their usual white one and carried it down the hall to Mavis, then wrapped her up in her half-asleep daze.

It was warm and it smelled like her mother, so she nestled down in it as her father tucked it around her.

"Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, Hatchling. Sleep well."

When he got back to the bedroom, Lucy was drying her hair, and her mood seemed quite different. She was optimistic and seemed happy. "I'm sorry, Honey. I kind of left you alone to drown in self-pity."

"It's okay. I'm a big baby when I get sick, so I can't imagine what kind of melodramatic fit I'd throw if I was the one," he said.

"You thought about that too?"

Her husband started to strip to go into the shower. "I did. I'm not as brave as you."

Lucy watched him throw his clothes on the floor and stared at them in the most obvious way until he picked them up and put them in the hamper.

"You never change. Still throwing your clothes on the floor…"

"Neither do you. Still giving me that look. Just for that, I'm leaving the seat up."

"If I fall in, I swear I'll shave a strip right down the middle of your head while you're sleeping and give you the ugliest reverse mohawk ever," she said.

He rolled his eyes. "You don't want to start with me, Babe."

Lucy waited for him in bed and when he finally dressed and got into bed, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. "We're going to be just fine, Honey. Let's do this, okay? Together."

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	56. The Cuts

It was four in the morning, and everyone in the house was awake.

Lucy woke up, took a shower, and tried to ignore the alarming amount of hair left on the drain. She'd been told it would happen, and her brush seemed full, but it was terrifying to look at.

She stood in front of the mirror, and looked at herself with breasts for the last time. The thinning hair, the loss of her breasts, her pale skin and the dark circles under her eyes…she was going to look really sick soon. It worried her husband and frightened their children and she hated it with every fiber of her being yet couldn't change it.

As a young single woman, she'd been so proud of her breasts, but she'd come to think of them differently once she fell in love with a man who couldn't keep his hands off of them. To Laxus, they were a feature of infinite erotic value.

Then came babies, and her breasts were the wholesome source of their sustenance. Breastfeeding made her proud of them in a very different way, and she had a couple of little scars from fanged babies.

Now, she hated them. They carried in them something terrible. Laxus seemed to have soured on them and refused to look at or touch them.

Lucy could see the signs of illness were setting in fast, although that was less the cancer that might kill her and more the medicine that only seemed worse than death. She'd only been taking it for a few days and she was already tired of it. She wanted some way to escape from her fate, but she knew it was impossible. She had to go through everything, and she had to keep her chin up because she had way too much to live for.

She didn't even notice her husband until he threw a towel around her.

"Good morning," she said.

"Morning, Babe. You feeling okay?"

His wife nodded. "Just a little anxious, that's all."

She had permission not to take the puke-inducing medicine on this day, since she had to have surgery, and she considered it a little something to be thankful for.

The kids were awake, dressed, and anxious for the hospital.

Laxus had scheduled a magic vehicle, and the trip was short and tense.

Paperwork was filled out, and Lucy was taken back by herself first. During the initial exam, she felt numb, and once she was taken to a room, her husband joined her to go over paperwork one last time.

They were left alone for a little while until she could be taken to surgery, and while the seconds slowly ticked by, Lucy suddenly stirred.

"My purse."

He gave her the purse and she dug for her remaining celestial keys.

"I plan on being all right, but you know, sometimes things happen. If something goes wrong or whatever, give Anna all the silver keys. Then a gold key every six months. Okay?"

Laxus nodded. "You'll be fine, but I'll hold these just to make sure they're safe while you're out."

Lucy took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Should I tell the kids goodbye? Just in case."

"If you want to scare the shit out of them. Honestly, Lucy, you're just anxious. Just be still. Everything is going to be okay. Don't panic. Don't be scared. Don't worry about our kids. They're very resilient."

"Like their dad?"

"I was going to say cockroaches, but whatever."

She smiled at him and thought about all the memories they'd shared. Life before Laxus was mostly terrible for her, up to the point she came to Fairy Tail. Of course she was fond of the days of adventure, and that period of time where excitement and danger were at fever pitch. Back then, the world nearly ended every three months.

Everything she was going to do to fight cancer wasn't really just about surviving. Life was important, but it was all the stuff she did with her life that she really cared about. She wondered sometimes if her thoughts and attitudes toward cancer would be different if she'd stayed single and never had a family.

Lucy wanted to have more memories with the goofy, aging guy who refused to leave her side, even when he got a little suffocating. Knowing him, he probably made her feel like that on purpose just in case she ever felt alone for a second of her life.

Laxus wasn't fond of people doing 'medical things' (as he called them) to his wife, so he was tense when the nurse came in and started poking here and there and connecting her to medical paraphernalia.

They'd made a decision not to let the kids come in the room before surgery to keep them all in good sorts. In the waiting room, they were tense, but no one was crying or willing to admit the level of terror. The last thing anyone wanted was Mavis breaking down into hysterics in fear something might go wrong.

When they came to take her, he gave her one last kiss. "Love you, Babe. See you later."

She reached up to touch his face. "Love you too, Honey. I'll be waiting."

He went to the waiting room to be with kids, who were anxious and tense. Lex was spending the time with Chelia and Wendy, and his father knew he was at that very moment probably testing his demanding behavior against Chelia's unbreakable will.

Natsu came by and sat next to him, offering him a paper cup with coffee from the tray of coffees and cocoas he and Iggy brought the Dreyars.

Iggy went over to sit with Anna, and the fathers sighed nearly in unison.

"Everything good at the guild?"

"Nope."

"What happened?"

Natsu said, "Sam's starting a lot of fights. He's getting frustrated with not being able to go on jobs. He is not happy Petri joined. I don't know what to do with him."

"Nobody does."

"Let him go on jobs again. He's been on probation for a while. I'll take him out on my next job, let him blow off some steam," Natsu offered.

Laxus nodded. "That's fine. As long as he's with someone who can look out for him. I'm just worried someone from the outside will try to get to him again. Bluenote Stinger found out he was a weak link because of information the Magic Council had, so we know that information is in their hands and out in the dark magic world. I think he's fine, but I don't want anyone to test him right now."

This was something that resembled their routine; drink coffee, talk guild, insult each other, maybe go out behind the guild and punch each other around, and then on with their day. Lucy said they were turning into cranky old men together, one day at a time.

An hour ticked by, and Natsu slouched down at the sight of his son holding Anna's hand tightly. "Those two…does it ever bother you? Lisanna's having a girl so I'm probably going to kill somebody for trying to do that."

"How far along is she?"

"Five months. Still puking her eyes out. Couldn't get out of bed and didn't want to look at my face this morning. What the hell kind of sense does it make that she wants a baby and then she's pissed off at me about the morning sickness? It's your fault, you know. My kids are going to be fifteen years apart."

"Really sure your wife getting pregnant didn't involve me. I think I'd remember something like that."

Natsu sulked lower in the chair. "Our kids were growing up just fine and you had to bring Lex around. Babies are contagious. Lisanna started wanting one. I can't say no to her. I mean, kids are cool. You brought that baby around and put the idea in her head, but you're not going to come change diapers at three in the morning, are you?"

"You're so excited you can't stand it. Lex needs a playmate anyhow, and Iggy needs to be a big brother. Besides, if you have older kids, you can just make them watch the baby. Free babysitting, and every time the baby does something gross, Iggy will tell himself he better not have a baby anytime soon. Everyone wins," he answered.

Another hour ticked by, tension grew.

Outside of the immediate family, very few people knew Lucy was sick and almost nobody knew about the surgery. Lucy had told her closest friends, knowing if the guild had known, the waiting room would be filled with chaos rather than being peaceful for the family.

Natsu and Iggy left briefly to get breakfast pastries to feed the Dreyar brood.

Laxus talked to each of his kids, dispensed hugs and encouragement when necessary, and then noted when the time passed when he'd been told she'd be out of surgery.

They ate donuts, sipped coffee.

Waited.

Another hour ticked by, and they were joined by Petri Nekkis. His lip was stitched almost down to his chin and the guildmaster knew it was probably from brawling with Sam, but he couldn't deal with anything else right at the moment. He just wanted Lucy to be okay.

Half an hour later, Lilia appeared with Baby Orga. Yuri wrote to her, and somehow or another, Orga had invited himself to Magnolia.

Laxus looked over the room and realized his clan in its current state was actually pretty huge. He didn't mind the appearance of anybody since he knew teenagers sometimes liked to have someone to tell their secrets to, or hold hands with. The assorted crushes were learning too how important it was to be around when things were hard, so he didn't bother any of them.

So far, only Yuri had done anything in the dating world he didn't approve of, but Yuri was at the age where he couldn't really be told what to do anymore. He was a good kid and he would listen, but he had a mind of his own and he made his own decisions.

A doctor finally came out, and Laxus stood quickly and followed him away from the group to the room where Lucy was completely unconscious on the bed. She was pale, and her chest was flat, besides a lot of swelling and the outline of bandages under her hospital gown.

Laxus crossed his arms and braced himself, because this doctor knew what was going on in her body. He could give bad news or good news or news that would just leave him worried.

He felt like he could barely breathe.

Then the doctor told him the surgery was a success, and it didn't appear the cancer had spread anywhere else because they'd caught it early enough. There were some tests that hadn't been completed, and Lucy still had to complete a difficult treatment plan that wasn't guaranteed to work, but the doctor was optimistic.

This was his first time to meet her doctor, so while Lucy remained asleep, he talked, listened, asked questions, and came to some semblance of peace and focus. Cancer was terrifying, mysterious, and it was also going to be a presence in their lives for a while. Lucy was sick, and she was probably going to feel sicker going forward, but she would be okay and that was all he cared about.

He went out to talk to the kids, who sat up in their chairs and prepared themselves to hear the news. Since skimming through books about cancer, they'd scared themselves half to death with information about what was going to happen if the doctors cut into their mother and found the tumor had spread.

"Hey guys. The doctor said everything went really well. There are still a couple of tests, but it looks like Mom caught it early enough she'll be just fine. She's still got a long ways to go, but she's going to be okay," he said.

Yuri asked, "Is Mom awake?"

He shook his head. "She's still out. When she wakes up, she might be a little woozy for a bit. I'll bring you guys in when she's ready for you."

"We can't wait for her to wake up?" Layla asked.

"No. I'll come and get you."

They wanted to wait in the room with her, but he knew if she woke up and the kids were there, she'd have to be Mom Lucy. Mom Lucy would try to keep from crying or talking about what was really on her mind, so he decided it would be best if he was the only one with her when she woke up. He didn't know how she was going to feel physically or mentally, so it was his way of protecting her from having to be stronger than she needed to be.

He hugged on his babies, who seemed just as relieved as he had been, and then hugged them again.

He returned to her side to wait for her to wake up, and they started to revert back to being normal kids and not kids that were scared to death their mother would die.

Mavis returned to her seat next to Baby Orga after grabbing a donut and eating in in three bites.

"You eat like a boy, yet somehow it's kind of cute," he said.

"You didn't have to come, you know," she muttered.

The boy asked, "Are you mad at me?"

"You're wearing a shirt this time, so it's okay, I guess. You're usually half-naked and following me around when I don't know about it. That's kind of weird."

Baby Orga leaned in closer. "You're my girlfriend, so it's my job to be here for you."

"I'm not your girlfriend."

"You kind of are. So if you're going through something bad, I'll always come visit. And sometimes, if something bad happens to me, you can come see me too," he said.

Mavis stared at the floor, then the wall, then admitted, "I was scared. I love my mom. I don't know if you know this or not, but I'm not a normal girl."

"You tried to drown me the first time we met."

"What's that got to do with anything?" she crossly asked.

"Uh…nothing."

Mavis continued on. "I need my mom. It scares me to think something could happen to her."

Orga offered her his hand. "Your mom will be just fine. You dad said so, right?"

The girl glared at his hand and all the invitation represented. Was she the kind of girl that would hold hands with a boy? This boy? She wanted to, but she wondered how it made her look and how it would feel.

Orga smiled at her. "It's okay, I don't bite."

Mavis glared up at him and then crossed her arms. "I do."

"I don't mind if you want to nibble me a little. I just thought about it and I think I'd like that," he argued.

With that she rolled her eyes and looked away. "Get lost."

"Never! C'mon, hold my hand. We can work on the biting thing later on."

Mavis cringed. "Ugh, you're disgusting," she said as she unfolded her hand and offered it to him.

Across the room, their interactions were being watched closely by a certain overprotective big brother, who had his arm wrapped around Lilia.

"Baby Orga is harmless. He talks about her constantly. He would never hurt your sister," Lilia said.

Yuri looked down at her. "It's my job to look out for everyone, especially with Dad taking care of Mom. I might knock him around a little, just so he understands."

"Boys are all the same."

Her boyfriend shrugged. "Can't help it. Anyway, my dad talked to me about what we were talking about. He thinks it's a really bad idea."

Lilia nodded. "You don't even want to know what my dad said about it."

Yuri tried to imagine how that conversation went, when Sting's precious oldest daughter—with whom he'd been able to spend very little time—told him she planned on moving in with her fairy boyfriend in about a year, making both of them seventeen. He sighed at the thought Sting's rage probably boiled on even at that moment, and knew he'd probably take it out on him at their next meeting.

When it came to being a boy and pissing off his girlfriend's father, his parents _never_ interceded on his behalf. It was their unspoken way of saying he probably deserved it because as in love as he felt, sneaking into her room and taking her virginity ranked near the top of the list of things that might piss a girl's father off. Only cheating on her or getting her pregnant ranked higher, and Yuri had already come close to the second one.

Lilia said, "I love you, but I think we should listen to our parents."

"Yeah…"

The lilac-haired sixteen-year-old gave him an uneasy smile. "Your family needs you now anyway. My dad says it might be better if I came here and lived in the dorm next year instead. He says he knows I'm growing up and that we want to be together, but that it wouldn't be good for us to just move in together like that."

Yuri found it a little odd to imagine Sting having rational conversations about him with his daughter, but one thing he'd learned was that as much as parents had discouraged them from moving as fast as they did, they were understanding and did their best to dispense good advice. And, maybe most importantly, their parents never tried to force them to do anything, one way or another.

He was relieved they could agree on this because he really did intend on focusing on his family first. It might be a long time before his mom was all the way back to health again and during that time, he had to be more of a big brother than ever.

His eyes shifted to Layla, who was talking quietly with Petri. Yuri and Petri were friendly—the term the latter used was 'bros'—but he was a little wild. He didn't understand why Yuri was so interested in settling down and being a 'real grown up' even though he was a year older.

Anna and Iggy had what Yuri assumed was a very normal relationship. They enjoyed holding hands and doing homework together, and had a somewhat peaceful friendship that was punctuated by normal disagreements caused by being young and opposite gender.

He was big brother to a bunch of girls who were old enough to like boys and he didn't want any of his sisters to get hurt. So while his father looked after their mother, he kept an eye on his sisters.

XXX

Elsewhere later that day, Sam Redfox was on his first job in almost seven months. He'd asked a thousand times, and his guildmaster finally let him go on a job. Natsu relayed the news, and he'd felt relieved. The rules were simple; he couldn't go alone and Natsu had to approve his job and his companions.

It was annoying and humiliating, but his first job back was to perform a magic show, and his companion was none other than Henry Freed Justine, that eleven-year-old offspring of Mirajane and Freed. It was an easy job, one without complication or problem. It was only two towns over, and they had to be back by dark.

Sam initially felt like staying in the guild had been an act of grace, but things had been rough. He had a terrible scar from where Yuri and Layla cut the lacrima and its errant growths out of his arm. That, combined with the fact he didn't go on jobs for seven months and the Magic Council tried to hunt him down spelled out clearly that he'd been in trouble.

One of the other major consequences of the fiasco with Bluenote Stinger was that his circle of friends and habits changed completely. All the time he was growing up, he was around the Dreyars. He and Iggy practically spent half their lives in the house.

Iggy still enjoyed his privileges in the Dreyar house. Sam had never been formally uninvited, but Layla and Yuri watched him intensely at all times.

Some of the oldest yet less powerful members in the guild seemed to accept this as inevitability; he was the bad seed of a bad father. When he considered that a few people still looked down on his father for Phantom Lord, he wondered if he'd ever outrun his sins.

The completed their job quickly and prepared for the trip home, only to run into a complication. They were supposed to catch the train back to Magnolia from Clover, but when they got to the train station, they were informed the bridge over Clover Canyon had a problem and they'd be stranded in Clover at least for the night.

Natsu had made it extremely clear he had to check in with him by ten that night, and that wasn't going to happen. There was no way around the canyon, no reasonable alternatives for travel, and no way he was going to make it home on time.

Henry said, "We should get a room before they're booked. There's only one place here, right? I have enough money."

"Fine. I have to find the messenger service and send a message home."

"Meet me there, okay?"

Henry didn't really understand why he was that upset; it was normal to get delayed on jobs or to get stranded while traveling. He'd been specifically told not to separate from Sam, but he didn't really know or understand why and it didn't seem like a big deal.

Sam wandered around Clover asking questions, and finally made it to the messenger, only to find it was closed for the day.

He was so frustrated.

So, so frustrated.

He sat down on a bench across from the messenger service, growled under his breath, and crossed his arms, trying to figure out what his next move was.

An old man sat down next to him, and said, "Something on your mind?"

"No."

The old man said, "Do you know who I am?"

"No."

"I raised your father. That practically makes you my grandson."

Sam stood up and said, "My dad was raised by Jose Porla. If you're that person, then I can't talk to you."

"Why?"

"I don't want to go back to my master and tell him the first time he let me go on a job I was friendly with an enemy of our guild. You're going to get me in trouble. Got lost, Geezer."

The boy wanted to hurry away, but his path was suddenly blocked by one of the guild's well-known deserters, Romeo Conbolt. He'd left the guild after his father died out of bitter frustration he couldn't pass the S-Class exam and didn't have the ability to be one of the top wizards.

Sam asked, "What is this? Whatever this is, you guys can just get away from me."

Jose Porla said, "Why don't you relax? I'm not a monster. Surely your father told you I never hurt him. He was well cared for. When I found him, he was wandering around, hungry and crying and lost. I took care of him like a father. I never forced him to do anything he didn't want to do, and I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do."

"Then what the hell is this? I don't have time for washed up losers."

Sam started to walk away and Romeo said, "You realized that means you too, right? Once you're bad, you'll always be bad. Unless your last name is Dreyar. Then everyone just forgets you were an asshole. But you…you're a Redfox. You can't help yourself. It's in your blood. Of course you're going to hurt one of those pretty little blondes."

The boy stopped and turned. "What do you want?"

Jose answered, "I consider you family. You're in a difficult position in life. Frustrating, isn't it? But, the truth is, no one really forgets anything. They'll watch and wait for you to make a simple mistake, then use it as proof you were bad all along. They tell you about 'right' and 'wrong,' and then you realize they're the ones who decide which is which."

This struck a nerve, and the Redfox boy replied, "I never meant for anyone to get hurt."

"I can give you a new chance. Start over. No one will know what you did. I won't tell you when or where to go. No rules. No suspicion. No guilt."

Sam's heart beat in his ears. "I won't betray my guild."

Romeo smirked. "My dad died a nothing in Fairy Tail, and all I knew is I wasn't going to follow suit…spend my life drinking beer and watching everyone else live big—no thanks."

Jose added, "I'm not asking you to betray your old guild. I'm asking you to do what's best for you. You've found yourself in a tricky place in life. You can go back to Fairy Tail and continue to be ostracized, punished, and the object of everyone's doubt, or you can have a fresh start."

"My guild has always treated me fairly."

"They haven't. You know that. The purpose of a guild is for a wizard to find work and make friends. We all participate in magic at our own expense. The real reason that girl was hurt was because of Makarov. He put her in danger, not you. You never meant for that girl to get hurt."

"Of course I didn't. It was all an accident."

Jose asked, "Then why live your life being judged for it? Fairies are perpetually hung up on the idea of right and wrong, but they're the ones who decide. I had your guild destroyed, it's true. Mine was destroyed too. Makarov and I had a rivalry. No one was 'evil.' But he'd make you think it was like that. Well, I suppose he can't make you think much of anything now that he's dead. Tell me, did your father ever tell you I taught him to be evil or that I forced him to do things he didn't want or that I didn't take care of him?"

"N-No."

"Don't you want to start over? No judgment. No sin. No pretty little girl with a mutilated face running around with some other boy like you never existed to start with?"

Of course Sam wanted that. He couldn't even count the number of times he imagined he could just start over.

"You're old enough to decide for yourself."

Sam was moved more than he wanted to admit at the offer. It was true he knew about Jose Porla, and his father told him that he'd been well-cared for, but not taught the difference between right and wrong. It was also true that his father was the top dog at Phantom Lord, and after joining Fairy Tail, he'd never been the top anything.

"You know, your guildmaster is trying to start a war with the Magic Council, maybe even the king. That miserable Nekkis boy bought his way into Fairy Tail by committing a serious crime. He stole files from the Magic Council and gave them to Master Laxus."

"I don't believe that."

"They're in his house. The Magic Council is certain, but they don't have any proof. They can't go in the house without Fairy Tail finding out, and that would be an act of war. If you were to get those files and return them, you'd see the truth about your master and your guild. I'm not recruiting for a guild, you see. I've been charged by King Pilar with recruiting a group of elite wizards to be trained for the royal office's use. You'd work for him only. Answer only to him. That's a big opportunity for someone your age, and one highly honored."

Sam fisted his hands at his sides. "I won't. I trust my master."

"That's a mistake. See for yourself. You find the files, you'll know your master is trying to make trouble with the government for no reason. If that happens, Fairy Tail will be disbanded. Lots of people could be hurt or killed. Whose side do you want to be on? The king of your country or a rogue guild that breaks all the rules? The losers will be the ones who are punished—ask me how I know."

The train bell started ringing and Jose said, "Maybe there was a mistake. Looks like your train is leaving after all. I guess the problem was easy to fix after all."

XXX

At the hospital, Lucy slowly blinked as she took in her surroundings and tried to remember where she was. At first, the hazy feeling made her assume her husband talked her into drinking too much wine, but then she decided she was more likely to do that all by herself. Then she remembered.

She was at the hospital.

She'd come for a mastectomy.

She felt afraid as she looked down and could see down her body easily, all the way down to her feet.

Her eyes clenched shut as she fought back tears, and then she felt someone squeeze her hand.

"Hey Babe."

Lucy sniffed and whispered, "I don't have breasts…"

He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "The doctor says you're going to be okay once this is over. That's all that's important."

He reiterated the message, but Lucy seemed to still be half out of it and the other half was very distressed over how her body looked.

A nurse came to change her dressings and change drainage, and Lucy felt her ease her robe over her shoulders and start to unwrap the dressing carefully.

Lucy hung her head, suddenly feeling ashamed to be naked in front of her own husband. He would talk to her more about it, but not in this moment and certainly not in front of the nurse. He stood up and said something about going to talk to the kids, but he really just went out into the hallway.

Once the bandages were off, Lucy looked down at the stitched wounds on her flat chest. There was a lot of inflammation, a lot of swelling, and they were so ugly she knew the scars were going to be very visible for the rest of her life. Even if they faded, her body looked drastically different.

She tried to refocus herself, but when she casually took a deep breath and ran her hand though her hair, a fistful of it came out.

"Laxus?"

The way she whimpered his name practically broke him, because she rarely called him by his name. she sounded weak and distressed, like she was helpless and not the most kickass woman he'd ever known.

He came back in and sat next to her on the bed and this time, she didn't try to hide it. The wounds were large, the scars were going to be ugly. And her body had changed. A lot. It was still changing.

He'd already noticed the hair everywhere, and that she was definitely losing weight. The pale skin and dark circles under her eyes hadn't escaped him either.

Laxus watched the nurse change the dressing and helped her settle back down once the nurse left.

"Babe?"

"What is it?"

"I'd hit that."

Lucy blinked in absolute disbelief and then grinned. "You're such an idiot."

"Too bad. Looks like you've got to put up with me for a lot longer than you might have thought there for a minute," he teased.

Lucy heard the rustle of newspaper and was about to go nuclear over the idea he'd dare read the newspaper at such a time when she demanded his full attention.

"What's a five-letter word that means to 'jostle?' Ends with an 'e.'"

"Shake."

Laxus Dreyar was doing a crossword puzzle. It was the most bizarre, strange thing she'd witnessed in her life. But he really wasn't doing it. He read the clues, determined whether or not he knew the word, then just answer her for the answers.

The blonde looked up at her husband. "I think I just had a vision of what you're going to be like when you're eighty. Nope. It's still there. Put down the crossword puzzle and return to your actual age."

"Winter climate event, nine letters."

"Snowstorm. Honey, please. Not only are you acting like a much older man right now, but I wouldn't think crossword puzzles would be much fun for you. I mean, your vocabulary isn't what I would consider particularly varied," she replied.

Laxus might have lost interest if it didn't annoy her, or if he couldn't get the answers from her.

"Starts with 'g,' component in jams and jellies."

"Gelatin. Honey!"

He smirked and penciled in the answers. "Are you ready to do this for the rest of your life? If so, tell me what word has an 'l' and a 'g' and means 'indulgence.'"

"Delight. Did I actually die during surgery and now I'm in hell or is my husband suddenly a crossword puzzle guy? Oh, I know. Maybe, I haven't awoken from the meds yet and I'm high. Please let me be high," she answered.

Lucy loved her husband, even in his current state. Maybe most like that, even. From the start, he'd challenged her, annoyed her, loved on her, and spoiled her. Whatever she needed, he seemed to know and he always provided it. Right now, she needed something to help her start thinking like a normal person again. And he apparently needed the answers to his crossword puzzle.

They didn't talk about cancer, or hair falling out, or breasts, or being sick.

The meandered from one subject to another. Guild. Family. Kids dating. Baby. He made perverted comments and teased her, she fussed at him.

When she was in as good of a mood as she could be given the circumstances, she sighed. "Okay, I'm ready. Bring in the babies."

Laxus nodded and went out into the waiting room, which was mostly decorated with teenagers waiting anxiously.

"Your mom is ready for you guys. Remember she's sore. No hugs. Or else."

The Dreyar kids ran to the door, then filed in slowly to find their mother sitting up in bed, smiling. "Hey guys. Can I have hugs?"

Yuri asked, "Wait, is that a trick question?"

"What? Get over here, Thunder Baby."

They took turns giving her the gentlest of hugs, and then brought in chairs and camped out in the room with their mom.

Someone came by and said something about visiting hours and maybe Laxus gave them the kind of look that made a person shit themselves, maybe not. No one was bothered about it afterward, which was all that mattered.

When it got to be late enough, Laxus fell asleep and Lucy convinced her children to go home and get a few things for her including socks, lotion, her favorite book, an accounting ledger, and some dark chocolate from under her pillow.

Layla volunteered to go, since she knew where all of these things were and wanted a good walk anyway.

The walk was quiet, and she didn't hear or see anything particularly noteworthy. Halfway there, she put on her spiked earpods and melted into the music her father liked when he was her age. The earpods had a record of the songs he'd played the most, and she found learning about what he listened to help him understand and see a part of him that was otherwise hidden to her.

When she got to the house, the door was locked, and she didn't have her keys, so she went around to the back and looked for a key they kept hidden under a rock for special emergencies. It was gone and the door was unlocked.

Layla took her earpods off and entered slowly.

It was quiet in the house, but she could sense someone was there. Sometimes she wished she could smell people like her siblings and father, but she had sharp enough magic senses to know whoever was upstairs was someone she was around often. It was familiar, but she couldn't distinguish between certain familiar auras yet.

She crept up the stairs silently, breathing lightly through her mouth. Living with dragons had taught her how to navigate around people with sharp senses.

At the door to her father's study, she heard papers rustling.

Layla opened the door just a crack at first, and then when she saw Sam Redfox sifting through the Magic Council files, she slowly opened it completely.

Sam didn't know what to do when he saw her. The family wasn't supposed to be home; his mom told him her friend was sick and to be good to the family during the time of stress. She also mentioned the Dreyars would all be at the hospital, probably until very late if not for the whole night.

He'd already looked through the files, and determined everything the old wizard said was true. He had erased his guild mark and decided he'd take the files and run to his new start in life because something wrong was happening at Fairy Tail.

He wondered if she knew what the files were and why she was there at all.

Layla seemed tired, and preoccupied, and he realized how gutless and terrible it was to sneak into their house while their mom was at the hospital. Sam felt guilt for that, because Lucy had always been so good to him.

The blonde stared at him for a minute. "What are you doing?"

He tucked the files into his bag. "I was looking for the address for Sabertooth. I think my client had a job with them and I just wanted to write to Sting and ask him a question. No one was home, and I didn't want to bother anyone."

Layla pointed to the address book, watched Sam scribble the address down. He walked toward the door and for a minute, they just stared at each other.

Layla felt like he looked a little bit crazy. His black hair was shaggier than normal and his eyes seemed surprised or bothered. She wasn't really sure.

Sam looked her over from the top of her head to her feet, where his eyes fixed. She looked really pretty, and for some reason, he hated her for it. Her sandals had a little heel and they were nice, and her toenails were painted hot pink. Her lips were shiny and pink. Her dress was cute. That was mostly because she wanted to impress some other guy.

That was okay, because Petri wasn't going to be around if Sam turned in the files. He was a law-breaker, and Sam felt if he had to accept the consequences of his actions, why was Petri any different? Besides, Sam didn't feel he'd ever broken any laws.

Layla asked, "You have the key to the back door?"

He dug it out of his pocket and gave it to her, and when he left, he heard her headed upstairs.

Down the street he went, clutching his bag nervously. Everything felt wrong. Jose Porla was right; his guildmaster did have the stolen files and tensions between Fairy Tail and the Magic Council had been very high. Laxus didn't like or trust the king; Sam had overheard him tell someone they couldn't take a job in Crocus because the king was there.

He walked past a magazine rack with the newest issue of Sorcerer Weekly, and was surprised to see the wizard on the cover was none other than Layla Dreyar, looking gorgeous as always. He snatched a magazine without paying for it, tore up the cover, and threw it on the ground.

Sam went home, and he wrote a note for his parents saying he was leaving the guild and moving away, but that he'd write to them. He gave the briefest of explanations, naming the files in passing and purposefully omitting where he was going. His heart was pounding so hard, but he just kept thinking about what it would be like to start over. He asked if they could send the rest of his things once he sent them an address, and left the note on the kitchen table.

And then, he cut through an empty lot to get back to the train station quickly since the wind hinted at a storm.

Then suddenly, it was like time skipped forward for him, and he was on the ground. His body hurt terribly, his ears were ringing, his nose and lips were bleeding, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Layla's pink sneakers. She'd changed her shoes, followed him, and attacked him.

Sam sat up and felt dizzy, and knew Layla had hit him, very hard and without any warning at all. She'd successfully stalked him by staying downwind and then hurling a mercilessly strong attack at him from behind, throwing him so hard into an old tree that the trunk was cracked. Were his bones not iron, he was sure at least his nose would have broken.

He was still a little disoriented when she grabbed his arm and pushed the sleeve up.

"Where is your guild mark, Sam?!"

He jerked his arm back. "I quit! Your dad is trying to start a war with the Magic Council and the king, and Petri is helping him. The only reason he's in the guild—"

"Because he stole the files from the Magic Council? I already know. Petri told me himself, and I told him don't tell secrets to a person just because you like them. You never know when someone is going to turn on you," she answered.

"That was an accident!"

Layla picked up his bag and took out the files. "Are you going to say this is an accident too? That you decided to leave the guild, then snuck into my house and stole these? Sam, who told you about these?"

"None of your business. Give me the files, Layla."

"Never. If you want to fight, then let's fight. We both know I'll win," she said.

Sam argued, "They were stolen. We should turn them in. That's what's right. Or do the rules only apply when Master says so? Who gets to decide when right is right and wrong is wrong?"

He knew he'd struck a nerve by insulting her father, and she answered, "Sam, no one at Fairy Tail cares about rules or laws. What we care about is each other, and I don't think you ever got that."

"Yeah, you're so much better. You're stuck-up and crazy, and the only reason anyone bothers with you is because you were born pretty and strong. It's not like you earned either of those things. They just happened to you and you think it makes you better than everyone," he answered.

The blonde looked down at him in the most disparaging way possible."I don't betray my friends or my guild, so I am better than you."

"Give me the files, Layla."

"Get away from me, Sam."

Sam's skin coated in metal scales and he extended his hand. "Give me the files."

She rolled her eyes. "Was that supposed to scare me? I don't scare easily. One of the benefits of what you did to me. I have stared death in the face and guess what? It doesn't look like you."

When he tried to snatch them, she kicked him and turned around to head back.

Sam lunged forward, grabbed her by the hair, and hurled her straight into the tree she'd used to hurt him. "I've had enough of you looking down on me. You don't look that pretty with a bloody nose, do you?"

They leapt at each other and what ensued was the violent clashing of opposing wills. They hit, kicked, even slapped each other, and to Layla's surprise, he was a lot closer to her in strength when he was that angry than she ever expected. In between blows, they yelled things guildmates or friends would never say.

Rain started to fall, washing the scents of their blood downward into the ground. Normally, the smell of blood from the younger guild members never failed to bring one of the resident dragons, but in this case, the rain hid what was going on from anyone who wasn't reasonably close and they continued their battle.

He kept going on about what was fair or what was right, until she knocked him unconscious for a moment. Layla grabbed the bag and started to walk away, until a tiny metal spike went into her right calf muscle, causing her to fall.

Layla dropped and looked up at him. "You asshole, what is wrong with you?!" she shrieked.

She tried to get up, but her muscle was convulsing around the spike and it wouldn't obey her. So she grabbed it and pulled as he took the bag and made a run for it. She chased after him, and tackled him.

They tumbled down a rocky hill and at the bottom, she was on top of him. She still had that spike in her hand and she held it to his left eyelid.

"L-Layla, don't!"

She said, "He was on me just like this. And he grabbed this rock and I thought he was just going to club me in the face with it, but then it came down, and it made this sound…a squishy sound. It hurt so much, I'll never forget. My vision on that side just vanished, and all this liquid ran down my face. Then when he pulled the rock out, part of my eye came out, and the other part of my eye just sort of dangled out of the socket by the nerves. It was disgusting, and it hurt. It took Yuri hours to carry me to a hospital. I was throwing up blood and my eye was hanging out of my skull. Do you know what it was like for us?

"Then we got back and Dad said you get to stay in the guild. All he wanted was for you to be safe and to be okay. Yuri and I had to hide from the Magic Council and break a lot of rules to save your life when the Council came for your lacrima, and look what you're doing now. Now you want to follow the rules. You didn't want to follow the rules when we were worried the Council was going to kill you. Get out of here, Sam. You don't belong with us."

She stood up, climbed back up to the top of the hill, grabbed the bag, and started to limp away.

Of course she'd beaten him fair and square, and could have done anything she wanted to him. But those files were Sam's ticket to a fresh start and a better life, so once he caught his breath, he followed her, and he knocked her down.

She hit her head on a rock, and when she rolled onto her back, he pinned her down.

"I didn't mean for it to be this way."

He grabbed her by the chin and stole a kiss, then grabbed the bag and ran as fast as he could and jumped on top of the train that was just pulling out of the station. He didn't know where it went, but he had to get out of Magnolia and he had to vanish because he knew how much trouble he'd be in if he got caught.

He dropped down into one of the boxcars and opened his bag and realized he'd been tricked.

The files weren't in the bag.

Layla stood to her feet once he was gone, grabbed the files from where she'd hidden them when he wasn't looking, walked numbly through the rain, clutching them close to keep them from getting ruined. She didn't want anyone else to see what she and Sam had been fighting over, so she went all the way home and hid the files in their basement, then went back upstairs and took stock of her injuries.

She looked like someone had beaten the crap out of her, and her calf had a tiny but deep puncture wound that was developing a dark bruise. There was some blood in her hair from a scalp wound , but she was a powerful wizard, and people with a lot of magic would naturally take more pain, deflect more damage, and heal faster.

Sam had worse injuries and she doubted he was getting any help. She was fairly certain he wasn't going to come back, but she took out a light pen and added a rule to the runes that protected the house, forbidding the entry of Sam Redfox.

Layla took a couple of pain pills, jumped in the shower, and cleaned up. She stood under the water for a long time; in fact, she stood under the water so long the Redfoxes came back from dinner to find their runaway son's letter, tried to search for him, and found the signs of a fight in the wooded patch.

Then Levy showed up at the hospital, citing an urgent need to see the guildmaster, and Laxus came out.

"What's wrong?"

"Sam ran away," she cried.

"What?!"

Levy said, "Gajeel tried to chase him and he found a spot off Pine Street where it looks like Sam was attacked. Layla's blood was there too. I think they were attacked."

"I was asleep but the kids said Layla just went to get some things for Lucy. She had no reason to be over there."

Laxus kicked himself for not going with her, but when he and Levy went to the house, they got there at the same time as Gajeel who had followed the traces of her scent since Sam's disappeared at the train.

She was just coming out of the shower, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Her hair was wet but it was obvious she'd been in a nasty fight. She came downstairs with a backpack containing all the things her mother had requested and froze when she saw her father and the Redfoxes in the living room.

"What happened? Were you and Sam attacked?" her father asked when he saw the bruises and cuts all over her face and arms.

Layla shook her head. "Sam and I were fighting each other."

She was sure that her mother would have given her the same stunned, distressed expression if she'd been there with the other parents. Their parents could remember how close they were as babies, toddlers would could play together all day. Layla used to demand play dates with Sam, and he was always with her. They used to laugh about how Layla started planning their wedding at the ripe old age of three and was convinced he was her prince.

Now, they'd fought like enemies. Real enemies, who loathed each other, and they could tell from the detachment in her voice and the way she said his name that she'd stopped thinking of him as that little boy and started thinking of him as her foe.

"Why? Did you guys get into it over that new kid?" Gajeel asked.

The blonde shook her head.

"He didn't attack you, did he? His note said something about some files," Levy asked, afraid her troubled son had hurt her again.

Layla said, "I caught him stealing them from my father's study. I decided not to fight him here. I followed him, I attacked him, and I took them from him. He ran off. I don't know where he is."

Parents can't determine how their children turn out, and while Gajeel and Levy wondered what on earth had gone wrong with Sam, Laxus wondered how Layla had become so unyielding she almost seemed merciless as she spoke of Sam like a random enemy and not someone she'd spent her life growing up with.

"You beat up your own guildmate?" Levy asked in disbelief.

"Sam quit the guild, erased his mark, and then tried to steal damaging information about people in our guild that he would only know about if he spoke to an enemy. He has a problem with conflicted loyalties, not me. I'm going to see Mom."

She left and slammed the door behind her, putting her earpods back on.

Laxus spent the next fifteen minutes trying to convince Gajeel and Levy everything was going to be okay when he really didn't really believe it himself. Sam had willfully left Fairy Tail and was honestly too old to have his behavior explained away by youthful indiscretion. Maybe the first time with Bluenote Stinger was an accident, but there was no way any of the events of the night had been spawned by anything outside of an act of betrayal.

And it was dangerous; Petri committed a serious crime by stealing the files and Laxus had committed an equally serious one by receiving them. He doubted very seriously that whoever sent Sam to take the files was trying to take down a teenager, and if Layla hadn't intercepted Sam there could have been catastrophic consequences for Petri, him, and for Fairy Tail since the authorities were enemies again.

Gajeel and Levy pelted him with questions about what their son had taken, and Laxus didn't answer completely. This caused tensions to run high, and they only got higher when Laxus decided he wasn't going to chase after Sam.

Levy was an emotional wreck over her son's choices. "So, if we find him, and we talk to him, can we just bring him back?"

"Not this time. I don't think you guys did anything wrong raising him. He's just…," Laxus said, "look, when he calms down a little, realizes what's important, he can come back. Sam is dangerous, Levy, especially to his peers."

They left to look for their son, who was probably wounded and well out of town already, and he chased after Layla, catching up to her a block from the hospital. She pulled off the ear pods but didn't seem particularly receptive to anything he had to say.

"You're limping."

"Sam stabbed me in the leg."

"A doctor should probably-"

"It's fine."

He started to reason with her about her own state of mind, but he got the kind of feeling someone gets when they know the other person either isn't listening or doesn't give a damn about what they're saying. "Layla."

"Dad, Sam is crazy or evil, or maybe both. I don't care which it is anymore."

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	57. The Boys Say No

Sam Redfox was gone.

Multi-generation guild dynamics were complex. There were so many different angles; self-loathing, blame, finger-pointing, tempers, regret, hindsight…it was a complicated turn of events for the guild.

Everyone hoped his absence would be quick and maybe Sam would come right back home to Magnolia, but wherever he was, they didn't find him and he didn't contact them. Leaving the guild was a lot more understandable than disappearing and not even contacting his parents.

Laxus came to a point where he couldn't do anything except ask for help from the only living person who had ever been his guildmaster.

"How's your wife? I heard she was sick," Master Bob asked as he poured strong drink over cold ice at the bar in the empty guild hall of Blue Pegasus.

"She has breast cancer. She had to have some drastic surgery about a month ago, but she's still got months of treatments," he answered.

The old guildmaster was the last living member of Team Makarov, and was one of the longest-serving guildmasters in Fiore. "I hope she gets better soon. God knows you need that woman. Me, personally, I never could find the right girl."

"I can't imagine why," the younger dryly answered.

"So what are you really here for?"

"Sam Redfox left the guild a month ago. Ran away from home. No trace of him."

Bob frowned. "Was he in any kind of trouble?"

Laxus gave him a brief retelling of the last year of Sam's life, and the old man listened intently as he wiped down the bar and cleaned up, refilling Laxus' drink now and then.

Then he said, "You know what your problem is, Laxus?"

"What?"

"When a child grows up in a guild, of course when they're young you give them opportunities to stretch their wings and learn and grow. Yet you have to acknowledge that the life of a wizard causes a person to grow up fast. Tragedy or no, these kids go on jobs that require getting on trains, traveling, addressing danger and high-stress situations, sometimes getting the crap kicked out of them, facing death, maybe watching other people die or suffer, and then they come home and their parents still see them as the other kids they see walking down the street," Bob explained.

Everyone who was raising a kid in the guild was familiar with this frustration.

Bob added, "You keep calling Sam and kid or a boy, but that's not right. Your head is in the wrong place because you're a dad and you think of him as being a child. Sam is a young adult, and one of the most important responsibilities a guildmaster has is holding a young adult responsible for their actions. When you coddle someone making grownup mistakes like they are a child, you're failing to acknowledge there's a real problem present. When you don't address a problem, it always reoccurs. You tried to protect Sam from the consequences of his mistakes, so he didn't learn from them like he should."

"You think I should have been harder on him about Bluenote Stinger?"

"I would have expelled him. Not as a punitive measure, but to stop his momentum. Sometimes kids lose control of themselves and they don't know how to get it back. They end up making terrible choices just because they don't know how to get themselves straight and before you know it, they've spun so out of control you can't reach them," he answered.

Laxus scowled at his drink. "So it was my fault."

Bob shook his head. "Look, kids develop problems that don't come from their parents or how they were raised. Those are the kinds of things we can't fix. Take you, for example. Maky didn't do a terrible job raising you. Maybe he drank too much, and Ivan was what he was, but you didn't have any excuse for being like you were. Your grandfather tried everything to help you, but you just got worse and worse and he was so frustrated you had him in tears at times. All he wanted was for you to do right and be okay, but you just couldn't get your shit together and you got worse and worse until he finally kicked you out."

Since he knew his own young mind well, Laxus knew there was truth to this. There was something in him that had simply been wrong in his heart and it didn't really come from anyone. It just was, and it drove him like a madman to his own expulsion. Laxus hadn't ever thought about it, but that single act had instantly stopped his uncontrollable progression toward darkness.

"You got away from everything and you took a breath and you had an opportunity to think about life and see things in a different way. Sam is teetering between light and dark and you and his parents can't push him either way. He has to become strong enough make that decision for himself, and then he has to make it and live out the consequences. You can't do that for him."

"It's dangerous out there. We don't know who he's with, but we know it's an enemy."

Bob refilled his glass and said, "He knows how to walk away, doesn't he? And he knows where his home is and where the people who love him are. Besides, at his age, if his moral compass isn't tuned properly, you're not going to be able to do a damned thing about it."

"What makes you say that?"

"I adopted a couple of little homeless kids. Karen and Rusty. Raised them in the guild, and they were good kids, but they hit this age and they just started to go wrong. Karen Lilica died because her celestial spirits rebelled against her for being so cruel. Rusty Rose joined Grimoire Heart and has spent his entire life in the world of dark magic. Hibiki on the other hand was born into a dark guild and ran away because he wanted to live a different life. What I'm trying to say is that once a person reaches adolescence, they have to decide for themselves which side of the line they want to walk on."

Laxus finished his drink and thought for a while. It made sense, but it was hard to accept that it was right to just let Sam go. He was young. He had parents.

Bob refilled his drink and noted the younger guildmaster was noticeably inebriated. "This is your last one. Your grandfather would have lived a lot longer if he'd done less drinking, you know."

"You know, I lost another member last year. Romeo Conbolt."

"Who is that?"

"…That was the problem. He grew up in our guild. His father Macau was a wizard. You might remember he was the guildmaster during our seven-year nap on Tenrou Island. There's not a lot of room at the top in Fairy Tail. We have so many powerful wizards. I mean, there are hundreds of legal guilds and thousands of wizards. Not everyone is going to grow up to be Natsu Dragneel or Erza Scarlet. Most wizards are just somewhere in the middle. As a guildmaster, I know that's just the way things are, but when I was a kid, the idea of being mediocre made me crazy too."

Bob said, "You can't take that personally. The most fragile part of any wizard's body is his ego. Some wizards are probably better suited to smaller guilds. They want to be famous and they want to be the strongest, well…Fairy Tail's not the right place for insecurities and delicate egos. Wizards come and go for a lot of different reasons until they find where they belong. Of Team Makarov, Maky was the only one who stayed at Fairy Tail. Yajima went to the magic Council, Goldmine and I started our own guilds, Rob went off on his own, and Porlyusica turned into a heartless old maid. We were all friends until the end, but we went our own ways in life and if some of your members part ways with you, it doesn't mean you failed."

Laxus didn't feel convinced, but he finished his drink, jumped on the train, and headed home to his family. There was a part of him that knew he had to leave Sam alone; his parents would obviously probably never give up on him.

Yet with every fiber of his being, he wanted Sam to learn a lesson and come home quick. At the very least, he wanted to find out where Sam was, and he wanted to know he was safe. His worst fear was that Sam had somehow ended up with Jose Porla or Pilar – if those were even separate people.

When he got home, he found Lucy sitting at the kitchen table in a shirt that laid flat on her chest and a weak-looking smile. There were bald spots forming at her temples, and on the back of her head. She'd gotten so pale, so thin.

The kids had cookbooks and food and messes all over the place from their mostly failed attempts to feed their mother a diet safe and healthy for a person with cancer.

Just as he sat down, they served her a plate of assorted stewed vegetables.

"They're superfoods, Mom," Yuri said, his voice filled with hope.

Lucy stabbed the mushy mess with her fork. "Can we just get some superpizza?"

Anna said, "A high-fat diet with too much dairy is no good for you. You need a diet rich in whole, natural foods and antioxidants."

"Wine has a lot of those."

"Mom, we read lots of books about beating cancer and getting drunk wasn't listed as a valid strategy anywhere," Layla replied.

Lucy sighed. "Why did I let you guys learn how to read again?"

She crinkled her nose, but it wasn't that bad. She appreciated her kids, who did everything in their power to help her along. If she didn't feel like taking her medicine, she had them asking her if she'd remembered, and what she really remembered wasn't the task, but the reason for all of it.

Laxus was surprised when she started to work on guild stuff at home, although she was reasonably functional in between doses of her medicine. He wished she'd use that time to rest or have some leisure time, but Lucy was set in her ways. If she had strength, she was trying to do whatever she would normally do.

She made occasional visits to the guild, but it was hard to take everyone constantly asking if she was okay. Sometimes, she just wanted everyone to treat her like always.

The kids spent a lot of time together with their mother when they got home from school, and it made Lucy happy. She hated to admit it, but they'd reached the age were starting to do more and more on their own and suddenly they were very focused on their family. It meant the world to think her family loved and supported her that much.

Laxus was doing a lot of extra work with the guild, and after Sam's exit, felt guilty he'd neglected some of his duties. Without Lucy at full-power, he really felt the burden of looking after so many people for the first time.

After dinner, she prepared for a new ritual she and Laxus shared. She needed just a little exercise, so every night after dinner, they went for a walk. Sometimes it was a long walk in the sunset, sometimes it was short. Sometimes he had to give her a piggyback ride home.

They held hands and walked along familiar streets.

"I have somewhere I want to go," she said.

"Anywhere."

Lucy smiled and squeezed his hand. "It's a shop downtown."

"What shop?"

"You'll see."

He pulled her over and kissed her hair. "I love you. You had a good day today?"

"Threw up, worked on taxes, took a nap with Lex. It was productive. You know what he did today?" she said.

"What?"

"Held onto a chair and stood up. I told him he wasn't allowed to grow and that his job in the family was to be a cute little fat baby, but he didn't listen to me."

He smiled. "They never do. It's amazing how much kids want to grow up, and then you grow up and realize it was fun being a kid. No bills. No responsibilities."

"Pimples, rules, sexual frustration, homework…It's going to be weird when Yuri finishes school this year. I mean, I'm glad it's his last year, but a kid who runs out of school years isn't really a kid," his wife replied.

Her husband nodded. "Master Bob impressed into me that I have to start treating the kids as 'young adults.' It's weird. If I look at Yuri long enough I can still see his little baby face."

"I saw him in public the other day from behind and didn't even recognize him. I thought 'that man over there' and then I realized it was my little Thunder Baby."

It was strange sometimes, being parents to older kids. Babies were easy, but their half-grown kids were going through the oftentimes painful and confusing transition to adulthood. They had things to experience, explore, and do, and sometimes being their parent just meant giving them good advice and hoping for the best.

He stopped at an ice cream shop that had been a favorite place during her pregnancy cravings and bought her a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.

"Don't worry, I won't tell the kids," he teased.

She took it from him and licked at it with a mischievous grin. "Our kids are annoying me to death trying to take care of me. It's sweet."

"That's probably how they feel when we still try to do too much for them."

"Agitated and suffocated?"

They sat on a bench together and watched the sun starting to set. "You're a little bit drunk, aren't you?"

"Had a few over at Blue Pegasus."

"Rub it in my face. As soon as I have a clean bill of health, you and are going to the beach, we're going to get drunk, and we're going to do it in the sand. You better be careful about sand this time. You get sand in my vagina and I'm going to put some in you," she said.

"That was like…seven years ago?"

"Ten years ago."

"I'm glad you never bring up the distant past."

Lucy leaned on him, and he periodically kissed her hair while she worked on her ice cream. When she finished as much as she wanted, he chomped the rest of it down in a couple of bites and they went on to the shop Lucy wanted to visit.

It was a wig store.

He didn't want to go inside.

She dragged him in by the hand. "Don't be scared. I'm not. I've got some bald spots already. I figure I'll just shave the rest of it off and go with a wig for a while. It's going to happen soon anyway, and my hair already looks really thin and not right. I'll feel better."

When she said she'd feel better, he knew this was one of the many ways she was tackling her problems head on. He didn't understand, but he knew he had to support her in whatever she felt like she needed to do.

Lucy looked around the store, at face-less heads stacked to the ceiling with all different hairstyles and colors.

"This is kind of creepy," she admitted.

"Yes. I think I had a nightmare like this once," he answered.

Every challenge with cancer came with several different sides. Trying to have ordinary feelings and a good relationship despite all the sources of stress was one of the most serious challenges. Sometimes, one of her biggest struggles was making sure her family wasn't trying to overdo it for her.

Lucy even caught their daughters in a plot to give their mother their hair, and stopped it before they had the chance. She didn't really want them 'sacrificing' anything for her. If they did that, she had to acknowledge how important hair was, and she wasn't going to do that—not as the mother of three girls. Raising daughters, they'd invested so much into teaching them looks weren't everything. She wondered then if maybe she should just sport a bald head, then dismissed it because it was okay for a strong woman to want to be beautiful.

These were the kinds of things she hadn't ever thought about before.

The worker helped her into a wig cap and Lucy was looking through different styles when her husband plopped a wig onto her head. The hair was long, and streaked with various shades of pink.

Lucy pulled it into place before she saw ribbons of pink hair between her fingers. "Are you serious?"

"You. Me. That wig, and your tallest pair of stilettos at the beach when we get drunk."

She looked in the mirror, and then up at him. "Does this really turn you on?"

She twirled the hair between her fingers, and he gave her that devilish smirk she knew so well. Sex was on hold for now between them, but they still had their moments and they had a lot of plans for when they were back to themselves.

"There's a big plot hole in your plan. How am I going to walk around on the beach in stilettos?"

"You're not. I'm going to throw you over my shoulder and drag you around like a caveman while you kick your pretty little feet in the air and yell about what a brute I am," he answered.

Lucy threw the hot pink wig off. "What if our kids find it?"

"What if they find the vibrator in the bottom of your panty drawer?"

She punched him in the arm. "Do you want them to overhear us?!"

"Who? The saleslady who sells hooker wigs?"

Lucy growled under her breath and resorted to her normal method of defense: pretending she didn't know him. She looked from shelf to shelf, contemplating her options as she peeked at him occasionally. Her husband was apparently fascinated by the so-called hooker wigs, and as long as he was occupied with imagining her in all sorts of strange dress-up, she was free to conduct her own search.

Her hair had always been longer, but she'd worn it a little shorter after they had kids. She preferred it, but she felt like the longer the hair was, the more it looked fake. Plus, she was so used to her own hair nothing else looked right.

She found one she felt was probably one of her best options, but while she was standing in front of the mirror, she heard a distinct utterance from her husband.

"No."

Lucy turned. "Why?"

"It's made from horse hair."

"How do you know?"

He tapped on his nose.

His wife asked, "Does it make me smell like a horse?"

He nodded. "Not gonna lie. It's pretty weird and confusing for my nose. Horse wife is not a thing for me."

Lucy realized at that moment it wasn't a good idea to bring a drunk Laxus Dreyar into a wig store. So far he'd tried to get her to buy a trashy wig just to dress up and screw him in and was now smelling the wigs she tried to look at to make sure they didn't smell like an animal. He didn't like human hair wigs either because they smelled like strangers.

She finally settled for a shoulder length synthetic wig in golden blonde. It wasn't really what she wanted, and the synthetic didn't feel right, but he didn't want her smelling like an animal or an unknown person. He wasn't otherwise difficult with her and she knew sense of smell was a very powerful and strange thing for a dragon, so she put up with him.

When they got home, they spent some time with the kids, read a story to the baby, and went to the bedroom to get ready for bed.

Lucy sat at her little vanity in the bathroom in front of the mirror with a pair of scissors, a razor, and some shaving cream.

"I was thinking maybe I could get rid of mine too, as a show of solidarity or something," he said, unsure of how to best support his wife.

She turned and said, "I really only love you for your hair. Without it, I'd have no reason to stay. Besides, I like to play with it. My hair is falling out, and that sucks. It's not the end of the world. I don't want anyone to change how they look because of that."

Laxus took the scissors and asked, "You're sure you're ready?"

"Let's do it."

He snipped the hair first and let it fall to the floor until it was short and close to the scalp. Cut short, he could see the bald spots that were spreading more clearly. After he blew the stray clippings away and methodically lathered up her head with shaving cream.

He shaved what was left of it off until her scalp was smooth.

There were moments Lucy felt mostly okay about what she was going through, but this was not one of them. She was bald, she had no breasts, she was getting skinnier by the day, and she knew it was going to get worse before it got better.

"You want to get in the shower with me? I'll give you a backrub under the hot water," he asked.

Lucy tried to crack a joke as she stared in the mirror. "What? You're not going to offer to wash my hair like always?"

Her husband would have said anything in the world to get her to look away from her reflection so he was relieved when she took him up on his offer. He washed her, head to toe, and she leaned against his chest under the hot water. Their bodies melded differently without her breasts in the way, allowing them to get closer. She hated not having breasts, but she didn't mind leaning on him like this because their bodies just sort of fit a different sort of way.

Her emotions swung back towards positivity after she spent some time with him there, and when she got out, they dried off, brushed their teeth together, and got dressed for bed. She took her medicine and got in between the sheets, hoping to fall asleep before it made her feel sick.

He cleaned up the hair and crawled into bed with her.

"I love you. You're a great husband. Except when you're drunk in a wig store. We're not doing that again."

"Love you too. Can't wait for the beach."

Lucy snuggled up close and laid her head on his chest. "You've been a really good husband, you know. I know it's really up and down for me. One minute I feel okay, the next I'm puking. Then I'm happy and then sad and them optimistic and then depressed."

"I know it's hard, Lucy. It'll be all right though. You're too tough for this shit."

She drifted off, and awoke an hour later to vomit.

The next day was not a good day that was in any way, shape, or form productive for Lucy. She was sick to her stomach and didn't even want to move. When she felt terrible, it was easier to get discouraged so even when she felt all right for an hour or two, she got under the covers and stayed there.

It made her feel like a wretch, but she also knew her feelings were probably normal.

The kids were at school, and Laxus had to work, so he sent Lisanna to look after her and Lex.

Lucy finally came down and nibbled at crackers while she sat on the floor with Lex, who was entering the stage of babyhood where things were starting to really happen for him. He crawled to and fro, but always made his way to his mother, preferring to crawl all over her than anywhere else.

Lex found her wig very strange and stared at it constantly at first, but then lost interest after she let him pull it off and examine it more thoroughly.

The two women had a long talk about guild matters, mainly about Sam and the others. Natsu felt enormously guilty for Sam's departure since he was the one who let Sam go on his job. Lisanna confided in Lucy that Natsu felt Laxus was being too hard on Sam, but what happened proved Laxus had been right all along about whether or not it was safe for Sam to leave Magnolia to work. Lucy already knew this to be true and that the whole issue of Sam had driven up tensions throughout the guild leading up to his departure and amplified them afterward.

Lucy said, "Laxus feels guilty for not doing enough or not doing the right things. Natsu regrets letting him go. Levy feels like they must have made a mistake raising him. Gajeel assumes it means he couldn't help his own son find the way…but really…Sam made his own choice. I feel really bad about what happened, but sometimes we can't decide what our kids do. I'm sure I'd be devastated beyond comprehension if it was one of mine though."

Lisanna agreed with this, but knowing what was logical didn't help anyone feel any better about what happened.

In the afternoon, she let Lisanna leave and took an afternoon nap with Lex.

She awoke in the early evening after the older kids came home from school. When she sat up, she yawned and saw Lex still stretched out in the middle of the bed snoring with his mouth open.

Laxus was sitting on the other side of the bed with his shoes off, his reading glasses on, a pen in hand, and his new guilty pleasure, a crossword puzzle. He seemed to be waiting patiently for her to wake up so that he could irritate her, which was both sweet and annoying all at once.

Such was life with Laxus.

Lucy sighed deeply, and he grinned at her a bit when he saw she was awake.

"What's a seven letter word for 'reason for existence?' Fourth letter is a 'p,'" he asked.

Lucy groaned, "Purpose," and pulled the covers over her head, "You're really insufferable, you know."

"Type of nut, five letters, fourth letter is an 'o.'"

"Almond."

Lucy asked, "How many answers do you have filled in?"

"Two. Only thirty to go," he answered.

"God."

"I think that might be the answer to 27 Across."

She groaned.

Her husband asked, "Four letters. Beautiful, brilliant, love of my life."

"Beer?"

Lucy peeked at him from under the covers, and even though he couldn't see her mouth, he knew she was smiling from her eyes. "Five letters. Handsome, wonderful and delightfully irritating man."

He bent down to kiss her and was intercepted by Lex suddenly jerking up and headbutting his father. In order to prevent any affection, he hugged onto his mom.

"Cockblocker, three letters."

"Little boys and big boys, just alike."

Lucy got out of bed and put her hair back on, looking out the window into the backyard. The fact that her husband seemed content indicated he wasn't aware that his beloved hammock was currently occupied by Petri and Layla.

She stared at them long enough he said, "I know they're in my hammock."

"They're pretty close down there. Kind of tangled up."

Even though her husband sighed, he didn't get up to go annoy them and he didn't seem particularly worried. If he knew they were down there all along, his presence in the bedroom where he couldn't even see them from the bed was quite telling.

"Is that look on your face approval or resignation?" she asked.

Laxus looked up at her over his reading glasses. "A little bit of both. Layla's been betrayed, kidnapped, almost beaten to death, mutilated…Sam stole that all-important, life-changing first kiss she's been dreaming about since she was three. Nothing magical about that shit—they beat each other bloody. That wasn't right."

Lucy felt her heart ache for Layla and for her husband. "That's enough to calm your overprotective fatherly instincts?"

He glanced down at his crossword. "Dairy by-product, four letters, ends in 'y.'"

"Whey."

He penciled in the answer and said, "I heard her crying last night. What makes a girl that strong cry? I asked and she said she just wants to know what it's like to be kissed by a boy who likes her, the right way."

"And you're okay with that?"

"I'm a dad, so of course I hate it naturally. But growing up shouldn't just be about the bad stuff. Petri makes her feel like a normal teenage girl, and I think she needs that. If laying in my hammock and kissing that boy makes her happy, then I'm not going to bother her. Besides, if we've learned anything, it's that she doesn't let anyone get the best of her."

Lucy went over to his side of the bed and gave him a big kiss, igniting their baby son's jealousy as he didn't understand why no one was kissing him. "You're a good daddy. I always worried you'd be to overprotective, but I think you're just right. You're letting them live and explore, but every boy that comes around here knows he better watch himself."

"Hey, I can kiss my wife if I want to," Laxus said as Lex tried to wiggle in between them.

"No!"

Lex said it so clearly as he wedged his way and grabbed onto Lucy.

Lucy and Laxus both stared in shock, and then Lucy asked, "Is that what you're going with for a first word?"

"Well, at least it wasn't 'mama," her husband complained.

His wife hugged the baby close. "You're such a good boy. You helped Mama win a bet."

The bet was that none of their children would say 'dada' first, and had been going on since Yuri was born and they realized he would at some point begin speaking. Five babies, four 'mama's' and a 'no!' left her satisfied.

Laxus sulked at them as Lucy showered him in praise for speaking a word. "Is it bizarre that the first thing I think is that we should go find another baby so I still have a chance?"

"Not bizarre, just kind of stupid. I'm done with babies. I need a kid to squeeze, but I'm sure by the time Lex gets to an uncute age, we'll have grandchildren. I mean, you leave those kids in the hammock long enough…"

"Lucy, I'm trying to be a mature father here."

"Did you not just suggest we adopt a whole person to settle a bet?"

Laxus looked back at his crossword puzzle. "Maybe we could just trade him in for a newer model. Three letters. Starts with 'n.' Means constantly annoying."

"Nag."

Lucy noticed he didn't write it down and said, "That's not on your crossword, is it?"

"Nope."

She sighed deeply and decided to spend some of her limited strength on pummeling him with the pillow, which was a satisfying sight for both her and the baby. After just a minute, she laid on her side of the bed, panting, and he kissed her forehead.

She grinned at him. "You make everything better. It's not so bad. I'm surrounded by people who love me. I'm going to recover. I'm still happy. Nothing can take that from me."

Down in the hammock, Petri and Layla were laying side-by-side, fairly close together. They wiggled and shifted around every minute or so, and at some point, she moved her head and found his arm under it.

It was nice.

He was warm, big, and handsome.

"You smell good."

"I took a shower this morning. I even remembered to use soap this time, since I planned on seeing the girl I like," he teased.

Layla laid there for a while and then impatiently asked, "Is there a problem? I keep thinking if I drop enough hints, you'll get it. You've been around for a long time to have not kissed me already."

"I'm nervous, okay? You're really pretty and you can beat me up."

The blonde scowled at her dark-haired crush. "Can you get over yourself already?"

He sat up and leaned over. "It's you I can't get over."

She reached up, put a hand on his cheek and he leaned down. Hearts pounding, eyes closed tightly, his lips brushed against hers and lingered there.

The kiss felt better than she'd imagined it would, and after his lips left hers, they fell again after he took a deep breath. It was magical, and wonderful, and amazing, and all the other words she could think of. And once they got past the wall of anxiety, it was even better.

As long as he was kissing her, she didn't have to think or worry about anything else in the whole world.

The door swung open, and someone yelled something about dinner.

Layla smiled at him and used her hand to wipe her lip gloss off his lips, only to have him lean down and kiss her again as soon as the person who interrupted them went back inside.

"You're so beautiful, but I feel like while I'm here on top of you my chances of being randomly struck by lightning are near inevitable," he joked as he sat up. "Plus, I'm hungry. And Anna and Mavis are really good cooks."

"I'm a good cook."

He gave her a thin, flat smile. "Right."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. You're the best cook ever."

He saw her eyebrows draw together angrily.

"If you showed up starving to death and I have all the food in the whole world, I wouldn't make you a piece of toast," she hissed.

Petri smirked. "I'd probably rather die anyway."

"Aren't you charming?"

"Terribly!"

"More like just plain terrible. Get away from me, boy."

He grabbed her from behind and her feet were dangling as she giggled and he kissed her cheek.

The back door opened and Laxus glared at them, but they did not see him. She was clearly gleefully happy, and he could accept this because he could remember how hard she cried in the hospital after Bluenote Stinger's attack when the doctor took off the bandage and she saw how her face looked.

He was still going to make an appearance at the dorm and scare Petri shitless nonetheless—this was his right and obligation as her father.

"You guys want to come eat?" he asked.

Layla and Petri straightened themselves out instantly. "Of course, Daddy."

And then, when she walked ahead of him, he gave in to his most natural urges as a father and zapped the hell out of Petri as he walked by. He became so rigid he almost fell over, and Laxus put an arm around him to steady him.

Layla turned. "Dad, stop."

"I didn't do anything, right?"

Petri shook his head. "Everything is cool, Beautiful."

And then, Laxus shocked him again for not referring to her with her proper name and he realized maybe he wasn't as ready as he thought for Layla to have a boyfriend. He trusted Petri far less than Baby Orga or Iggy, primarily because he was older, he wasn't as familiar, and he seemed to enjoy risky behavior.

At dinner, Lucy struggled over her meal, but her children were putting a lot of effort into cooking little meals just for her. It was love, but it was also gross. Raising kids, she'd gotten fairly accustomed to eating food palatable to a houseful of weird kids. She and Laxus sometimes at junk food in bed late at night and she missed that.

After dinner, kids got settled in for bed and Iggy came by to bring Anna's homework, as they'd kept her out of school citing an illness. Since the king wanted her, her parents didn't really feel safe letting her go, but they couldn't really keep her in the house forever either.

By the time he showed up, Lucy had fallen asleep on the sofa snuggled up to her husband, who had nodded off not long after.

Anna quietly took the books and assignments, and then, passing through the living room, stopped to put a blanket over her parents gently. She was always happy to see how in love her parents were, and how her father was so devoted to her mother. Rain or shine, they were always together. They didn't really fight, and they tackled all their problems together.

She gave them a smile and whispered to Iggy, "Do you think we'll be like them someday?"

Iggy looked at them, and thought of the first thing that came to mind. "…old?"

Wise, gentle, and kind, even Anna had her limits and Iggy watched as her face soured. Anna kicked him in the shin. Not hard, but hard enough to know he'd apparently ruined some sort of moment. Girls were confusing to him, but her expression said 'WRONG ANSWER,' very clearly.

"You're such a boy," she grumbled.

Iggy whispered, "Why are you saying that like it's an insult?"

"It is. Goodnight."

Once Iggy left and Anna went upstairs, Lucy's mouth formed a little grin. "I love our kids."

"They're all right," Laxus answered, cracking his eyes open.

Lucy sat up. "We can't keep her in the house forever."

"So what do we do?"

His wife had also pondered this quandary over the past few weeks. "I don't know. You know what I worry about most?"

"What?"

"Anna is too noble. She'll never do something she knows is wrong or dangerous."

Laxus said, "So even if he gets his hands on her, he won't be able to open the book."

"Wrong. Anna has a contract with Aquarius that can only be forcibly broken by her own will or by her death. If the king got his hands on her and she wouldn't open the book, he could kill her and give the key to another summoner. There are only a few people celestial wizards strong enough to contract with Aquarius. I won't do it. Anna won't do it. Yukino won't do it. You know who that leaves?"

Laxus hadn't considered this scenario at all, and it was grim. "Hisui."

"We don't know where she fits into this. Maybe she's been deceived. Maybe she's under some kind of spell. I wrote her a letter, and she didn't write back. Maybe if I visit…"

"We both know I'm not going to let you put yourself in danger."

"Or we could ask Anna to break her contract and I could take Aquarius back for a while, but that would be painful for Anna and Aquarius, and I don't want to have to go to those lengths unless we don't have any other choices."

Her husband shook his head. "That's even more dangerous. I don't want that bastard targeting my young daughter or my ill wife."

He saw her tense, like she wanted to fight him about it. Since she could barely get out of bed sometimes, spent parts of her day throwing up and then recovering from it, and had nearly no energy, he believed she might not have the strength to summon any of her spirits. He didn't dare say that to her face, because he knew it would hurt her.

They still had no answers.

XXX

Sam knew he'd messed up.

Yet he knew if he went home, Master Laxus wouldn't take him back in the guild. He didn't have a future in Fairy Tail, although at night in his room in the barracks in Crocus, he thought about the guild constantly.

He missed his parents.

It came as a surprise to him, but one of the people he missed the most was Iggy, who was a fairly constant presence in his life. He'd never thought of it before, but Iggy had never treated him differently after everything that happened. In fact, away from the noise of his own self-doubt, he wondered if most of it had always been in his head. Had anyone ever looked down on him or did he only look down on himself?

What he did to Layla was real.

His betrayal was real.

His regret, pain, and sadness were real.

His new life was different than guild work; he didn't have a choice about what he would do or not do. He didn't go to school, and he knew his mother would have been really upset about that. He received orders without any details or explanations, and had to complete them.

Jose took Sam with him nearly everywhere, talked to him, and treated him kindly. Even though Sam hadn't been able to get the files, he still took care of him and gave him the position promised. They had breakfast together every day and everything he did was supervised by Jose.

Dragonslayers were unimaginably powerful creatures, and while there were some wizards that could beat them using high magics, they were still titans. All of them. Sam was young, and had all the potential of two powerhouse parents in his body, but a strangely troubled mind that made him vulnerable.

Jose knew the reason the Fairies lost Sam Redfox was because they tried to protect his vulnerability rather than exploiting it, and in his amoral world of gray, this was simply senseless. Away from his home and his family, Jose knew Sam would be pliable and easily bent.

Sam was also lonely, and Jose brought his great granddaughter to Crocus to keep Sam company. Sam was attracted to pretty young powerful girls, and she fit the bill well enough. He seemed grateful to have the attention of a female, and she helped him not hate his new life so much. The old wizard believed if he couldn't sway Sam's loyalties the traditional way, he could probably anchor him down by letting him become overly attached to the girl.

One day, Sam met Jose for breakfast and found the old wizard sipping orange juice.

He met the king for the first time that day, and knew something was terribly wrong. So he started thinking. And thinking. And thinking.

For a week, he ran errands, completed tasks, all close to Jose.

His conscience ate at him, and he wondered how confused and how twisted a person could get and still be able to function.

Late one night, there was a conflict. Rebels against the king caused upset in the city, and Jose gave he and Romeo the book and told them to take it to a special room in the castle to protect it.

The capital filled with violence quickly, but they were supposed to make as small of a scene as possible and slip through the angry crowds to the castle.

"Romeo, you know this book is the reason a lot of bad stuff has happened," he said.

Romeo glared over. "Bad stuff happens because of competition. Because of rivalry. Books don't make people do anything."

Sam scrambled after him, staring at the book nervously. "That book put Anna Dreyar in danger. It's something bad. You know it's bad. People don't seal away stuff that's good. We can stop all this."

"Look, if you want to get somewhere in life, just do what you're told. Become strong. You're never going to find your own place in this world if you keep thinking about other people. Especially people that have cut you off. You're a traitor. It's what you're good at. You'll never be anything but that."

Sam wanted to argue, but some part of him believed it would be pointless. Romeo had a prominent place in the kingdom under the new king and he had no desire to be an unnoticeable in a guild filled with strong wizards.

Without warning, Sam did what Romeo claimed he was so good at and slammed his skull into the nearest wall so hard Romeo crumpled to the ground with blood running out of the back of his head. The teenager was confident that he'd be okay, but he dragged him into an alley and bound his hands and feet and mouth in iron just to make sure he had enough time to get away.

He wasn't foolish enough to think he'd get away with this, and as soon as Jose realized what he'd done, he'd have nowhere to hide. He regretted he didn't have a plan, but then again, he felt like his whole life had been unplanned and taking the book was the clearest and easiest decision he'd made in a long time.

Sam took in a deep breath, hoping there was someone in cityq he knew.

There was smell from smoke, riots, and his senses couldn't pick anything out.

While he thought frantically and tried to run across the city, Jose Porla appeared with the murky cloud from his shades. He was furious, maybe murderous.

Sam held onto the book tightly.

"Clinging to a family that will never love you? I almost feel sorry for you."

"I don't need your pity. I don't need your help. You caused everything. What happened to me and Layla. And Anna and Iggy. You sent the Council after us," he said.

Jose answered, "That's nonsense."

Sam said, "How did you know files were stolen from the Magic Council? How do you know about everyone? I looked at the files, I know whoever owned this book owned Erigor too. Erigor died from the lacrima," he held his hand up and showed him the scar. "It was all you!"

Jose took a step closer. "Your father wasn't much of a thinker. I think that helped him."

The teenager found himself on this rooftop, separated from his friends and family by more than distance. The only people he knew in Crocus were monsters, puppets of Jose Porla, or victims of his manipulations.

Sam took another step back. "I know the king isn't a person. It's something you made. It smells like you. You caused everything bad that happened to us."

"Bluenote Stinger was my enemy."

"Erigor had a file on Layla. On how to hurt her. With my name on it. Why did he have that?! That's how Bluenote Stinger knew about me. He only did what Erigor was going to do for you. Use me to hurt my friend!" Sam screeched.

Jose suspected Sam wouldn't be persuaded to hear he intended to take his vengeance on all the Dreyar blood, starting with the girl who had Makarov's magic. Sending Sam after the files had proven to be a foolish gambit, as that was supposed to give him legal leverage against Fairy Tail. Instead, the files were not recovered and Sam read through them well enough to figure out some of what had happened.

He tried to soothe the chaos inside of Sam, attempting to bank on all the goodwill he'd built up over the past weeks. "Sam, look at me. Everything is all right. Come here," he said, embracing Sam gently. "Just calm down. Give me the book. Don't be afraid. You can't do anything for them. This is your future."

"No!"

Jose gasped, and then gurgled when a metal spike the size of a small tree went through his chest.

It was gruesome, and Porla slid off onto the roof and let out choking gurgles while he died.

The truth was that Sam wasn't afraid of anything anymore, except never figuring out where he belonged in the world. Truth be told, he hadn't felt right anywhere yet, and he wondered if he ever would. What he did know was that the people who really loved him were the ones he'd hurt most, and if he could, he would do anything for them.

That corpse on the roof meant the government was no longer being controlled by an enemy hell bent on destroying Fairy Tail. It meant Anna was safe. It meant the Magic Council wasn't going to harass or attempt to disband Fairy Tail. It meant Layla was safe from Jose trying to take his vengeance against Makarov out on her. It meant life—at least for the rest of the guild—could be okay again.

Jose was so set on revenge Sam believed that maybe the whole reason that file named Sam was to get even with his father for leaving him to join Fairy Tail. Gajeel had been the crown jewel of Phantom Lord, so it was obviously extremely insulting that he'd joined Fairy Tail and had a family in that guild. Why wouldn't a vengeful, crazy psychopath want to destroy that family?

Still, he didn't feel like he could go home and he didn't want to be caught up in any trouble, so he took the book, erased the evidence of the iron spike, and vanished again.

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	58. The Dragon's Son

Two weeks after the rebellion, Laxus received a personal summons from the queen.

Natsu had been called upon during the first night because nearly a fourth of Crocus burned amidst fighting between the army and the Magic Council, both against one another and within themselves as Jose Porla's loyalists continued to churn up chaos.

No one seemed to know a lot of details, and there were rumors. Namely, there was a rumor that the king had started the rebellion, and another that he'd been killed by the rebellion, and another that he'd vanished and that caused the rioting.

By the time Laxus got there, the city was starting to rebuild. There was no fighting, and the reorganized army patrolled nearly every block.

Jura had been called back to get the Magic Council in order, that much Laxus knew because he was the one who summoned Natsu. In the city, he overheard Arcadios had been broken out of the dungeon under Mercurius and had taken control of the military again. Jura and Arcadios were the pillars Hisui relied on in the years prior to Pilar, so they were the most integral figures in any recovery.

When he got to Mercurius, Hisui was waiting for him in the throne room.

"Thank you for coming."

Laxus had never been overly formal with her because it wasn't his style and he'd had some casual contact with her through Lucy. "Queen, are you all right?"

Hisui went to the window and stared out over the city. "In one moment, I was sitting down for tea with one of my advisers. Pilar…he said he had information about a plot. Then, there's over a year missing from my memories. I've seen pictures where I seem to be conscious, but I don't remember anything that happened. I suspect I was under a mind control, as far as I can tell, and was released when the caster was killed."

"Jose Porla?"

She nodded. "He died like a dog and that pleases me."

"He's dead?!"

Hisui said, "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"We have the body."

"How?!"

The queen's lip turned up. "He met an unextraordinary end at the hands of a rather extraordinary young man."

Laxus picked up the scent as someone made the corner behind him.

"I believe you know the Iron Knight."

Sam was wearing an enormous suit of white armor, the kind Arcadios wore that designated him a part of the most elite knights. He had the book in his hands, and approached slowly, offering it to his former guildmaster.

Laxus took the book from him and looked him over carefully. Sam had a lot of bruises healing on his face, but he looked good—maybe better than he had in a year or more. The young wizard's eyes seemed very clear somehow, and he seemed to have lost the perpetual heaviness that he'd been carrying around.

"I'm glad you're okay, Sam," he said, reaching out to scruff Sam's hair until it was a bigger mess than it was naturally. "Armor is a little redundant, don't you think?"

Hisui said, "He was running away, and Porla's wretched loyalists threw me from the high tower. So he caught me and saved me from falling to my death. I was confused. Alone. He fought to keep me alive and safe, broke Arcadios out of the dungeon, even helped me send a messenger to Jura. He saved all of Fiore, especially your guild."

After an extensive period of his life mostly spent causing trouble, Sam felt a little awkward and uncomfortable being praised for anything. He was smart, but he hadn't really done well in school. He was strong, but he hadn't had faith in his own power. He wasn't really a 'nice' boy. He was a sell-out, a traitor, a liar, a disappointment, and now he was literally a white knight in shining armor.

The queen said, "I was going to call you here to ask to overlook his crimes and accept him back into your fold. And then I decided that I like him and I'd rather keep him instead. How's my dear friend, Lucy?"

He wanted to argue with Hisui's claim of ownership of Sam, because Sam was young. With Master Bob's advice still ringing in his ears, he couldn't bring himself to make the argument he knew what was best for Sam. The kid looked good and the queen wasn't a bad person. She was loyal, and maybe needed a dragon to keep close.

Laxus brought the queen up to speed on Lucy's illness, guild matters, current events in the magic world, and whatever else she happened to feel like talking about. Sam kept a quiet vigil, his eyes watchful and alert. The queen was clearly very interested in harnessing all of the potential he had and she didn't mind his mistakes because she knew firsthand what it was like to follow really bad advice and make terrible choices because of it.

Laxus knew fate had finally thrown Sam Redfox a lucky break. He was around people who had a completely different perception of him and people who had faith in him to be a person who made the right choice when it mattered. He seemed comfortable in his own skin for the first time maybe in his life, but Laxus still felt entitled to be himself.

"Sam looks like he's just fine, but I have to warn you he enjoys being a pain in the ass and he eats a lot, so you better tell your accountants to work that into their budget," Laxus answered.

Hisui smiled. "I'll take good care of him. And don't worry about my budget. Last time I checked, it was my face printed on all your money."

Laxus said, "Also, the Iron Knight needs to write home to his mommy and daddy."

"C'mon man…" Sam whined.

"I'll make sure he does. Or he won't eat. That's how children work, right?" Hisui teased.

"Something like that," Laxus answered.

After the meeting with the queen, Sam showed Laxus his new living quarters, a very nice apartment in Mercurius not far from where the queen slept. It had been Arcadios' room, but the queen informed Laxus in the politest terms that she and Arcadios had a clandestine wedding the night before to take care of her very obvious lack of an heir.

He had an enormous bedroom, a kitchen, a living area, sweeping views of the city, and the apartment was quite luxurious. It was hardly the kind of place a guild wizard would be expected to live, especially one his age.

Laxus flopped down on his bed, and groaned at how soft and wonderful it was. "Spoiled brat."

"Don't worry. I didn't keep any secrets from her. She knows everything. The things I did. I told her I always listen to the wrong people. She told me she once let an evil creep who traveled through time trick her into starting the apocalypse. I didn't feel so bad. And I wonder…how have I never heard about that?"

"It's better if you don't ask questions."

Laxus thought about trying to talk Sam into coming back home, and knew he might be successful. It seemed too cruel though, because the minute Sam stepped foot back in Magnolia, he'd be the troubled teen that hurt everybody who gave a damn about him. Being a teenager was hard enough without having to fight shadows, and now that he'd clearly figured out how to think and do what was right, he'd found a new path.

The queen's most elite knights were an important part of the country. If Sam was with them, he'd have discipline, education, and rigid training. He'd befriend his fellow knights and probably have more fun than his parents wanted to think about out in that big city. Different surroundings, different people, and a whole new world of possibilities and opportunities.

Laxus opened one eye when he almost fallen asleep on the soft bed and said, "Sam, you really do need to communicate with your parents. Their house is empty. Especially your mother. She and your dad tried to have more kids when you were little, but it didn't happen. They had one baby bird and he abruptly flew from the nest. I don't think he's coming back."

"I'll write and invite them to come visit. Hisui said they can stay here whenever they want. I just want them to be able to be proud of me."

Laxus pointed to a desk in the apartment. "You can write now and I'll take the letter back. Your parents are worried to death. Write, now, or I can knock you around a little. Your choice."

"Fine, fine. Are you still allowed to give me crap? Geeze, man. Enough with the mommy and daddy stuff," he complained.

Laxus said, "You're going to have to make me stop. Don't get cocky. You're not ready. Maybe when I am a hundred."

"We'll both be old by then."

"And I'll still give you shit whenever I want to. Or I'll be dead."

Sam watched the old wizard kick his shoes off and take a nap on top of his bed while he wrote to his parents. It was quite clear that despite moving away from Magnolia and quitting the guild, he was still connected to the people there. As irritating as it was to have his former guildmaster barge in, order him around, and take a nap, it also made him feel a little bit happy about the future.

When he finished writing and tucked the letter in the envelope, the sound woke Laxus up. He took the letter, and Sam asked, "You're not mad at me for killing him?"

"As an old man to a much younger one, I know some things. I've killed. I've shown mercy. I don't regret either. You shouldn't either. Besides, Jose wasn't some troubled kid with his head on backwards; he was the kind of irredeemably evil you'll only encounter rarely in life. You shouldn't go around and just kill people. But there are times I think mercy is a mistake. My grandfather let Jose live the last time they met," Laxus answered.

Sam nodded in understanding, grateful to still have the patient wisdom and approval of his former guildmaster.

"But anyway, how'd you do it?"

"He hugged me. I ran an iron spike through his heart. I just couldn't take it anymore. I just remember that I didn't care if it cost me everything. It was ugly. There was a lot of blood. He was choking on his blood," he answered, a little uneasy.

Laxus answered, "Death usually is. Don't think about it. You made your decision. You can't go back and change it, and even if you could, would you? I would hope not. You guys are all the same. You're in a real big hurry to grow up, but then you realize it's not all fun. Growing up means making hard decisions and then having to live with them."

The teenager decided it was a good time to change the subject.

"How's Miss Lucy?"

"Stubborn as always. She's going to be ill for a couple of more months at least, but I she'll probably want to visit you when she's on the mend. You should write to her. She'd really like that since she's bored and annoyed at home a lot," he answered.

"And Layla? I umm…"

"She'll be fine."

Sam broke eye contact. "I hate that she's the one I always end up hurting. She cared about me. A lot."

"You know, you're in the big city. Lots of pretty girls you haven't stabbed here. Pretty sure the knight in shining armor routine is a winner. You're starting over here. No reason to bother with that anymore. She'll be fine. You'll be fine. I think it's best you're going separate ways."

Laxus ended up spending most of the day with Sam, who felt relieved in a way he couldn't explain with the fact his former master wasn't angry at him. It really only proved that his friends and family in Magnolia had always genuinely cared about him and the rest of the noise in his head had _only_ been in his head.

When they got ready to separate at the train station, Laxus offered his parting advice.

"You're the only person who has to live with the choices you're going to make so don't blow it. Have fun in the city, but remember your friends and family back home. Don't think you're all grown up, because you're not. You've still got a long way to go. And if you mess up again, I promise I'll hunt you down and kick your ass myself. When you get tired of Crocus, come home."

In his gut, he knew Sam wasn't going to blow it. Leaving him in Crocus felt strange, but he felt a certain peace with it. Dealing with his absence was probably going to be hard for his parents, but he knew that was inevitable for all parents.

The train ride was as terrible as every train ride was to a dragon, and arrived back in Magnolia early in the morning.

On the way home, he tucked the letter from Sam through the mail slot at the Redfox house and saw a light flick on, probably from dragon ears hearing the hinge creak slightly. He knew they'd find the letter and he was tired, so he went home to his own kids.

He checked in on each of them as they slept, then went on to his room. For the time being, he slid the book under his side of the bed, as it would take an act of God to sneak it out from under him while he was sleeping.

After he took a shower, he crawled into bed with his wife, who smiled a little and snuggled up close.

"Welcome back, Honey."

"Missed you, Babe."

"Tell me everything."

Laxus gave her a breakdown of his entire day in the capital city and watched her nearly squeal with glee over Sam.

They felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off of their shoulders. No impending battle, no more worrying about the king sending the Magic Council after them, no more threat to Anna's life.

They'd been saved by the most unlikely of heroes.

This left Laxus free to focus his attention on what mattered most to him, and that was his Lucy.

In some ways, he found her strangely charming in her current state. She'd become extremely thin, she had dark circles under her eyes, her skin was unbelievably pale and almost waxy looking, she had no breasts, and she was bald, and yet, she was still gorgeous to him. All of that drew a strict separation between how Lucy looked and who Lucy was, and she was a beautiful woman.

Lucy's eyes were still bright and her smile was still so powerful and vibrant. She was full of life, and even though she didn't feel well, her treatments were going well. They just had to hang on until the storm passed, and everything would be okay.

He pulled her as close as they could possibly be and still comfortably sleep, and kissed her.

The next morning, the first person awake was Yuri, which was always the case. He'd been an early riser since he was an infant, so he was used to having the quiet house to himself. He shaved and was walking down the hall when he heard Lex calling for him frantically as he held onto the edge of his crib and begged to be taken out.

"Uwwiii! Uwwwiiii!"

Lex was frantic, waving his arms and demanding removal from his crib. He knew that the first person to wake up in the morning was big brother, and therefore his first chance of escape each day was with big brother.

Yuri took him out and changed him. As a teenage boy, he of course attempted to avoid diaper changing whenever possible, but he always woke up first and if he didn't help Lex out, he'd just scream and wake up the parents. Since his mom was sick and their dad was stretched a little thin, he handled his brother in the mornings.

Lex often reminded him of how close he'd come to fatherhood, which always reminded him that he was in no way at all prepared to be a parent.

He wasn't sure if it was that, or his mom, or something else he was going through, but he had this moment where Lilia was at their house talking about moving to Magnolia to be closer to him when the next summer came around, and he just felt like everything was wrong with the world.

Yuri watched his dad constantly, and even though he'd always wanted to be his dad, he'd suddenly become aware of the fact their dad spent his entire life taking care of other people. If there were things he wanted to do that were purely self-indulgent, Yuri was not aware of them. He just watched his father, day after day, running a guild, looking after his half-grown kids, taking care of the baby, and playing nurse to his sick wife and wondered what his dad did for fun or when he got to do it.

Lilia had a strange family situation growing up. Her parents hated each other, her mom dated other guys, and her dad married someone else and had younger kids, so she felt like the only place she belonged was with Yuri.

The weekend before, Yuri went on a job with Petri, and they'd gotten terribly drunk and wandered around in a strange town in the middle of the night doing anything, everything, and nothing. They raced to see who could climb to the top of the water tower when completely drunk, and then got into a scrap on top of it and ended falling.

It was a weird, wild, and wonderful experience and it caused him to realize he actually did want to be a normal teenage boy sometimes. He loved his family, and he loved his girlfriend, but he was nine months from finishing school and there was a part of him that was excited by the idea of taking long jobs really far away—maybe even in other countries. The life of a wizard was supposed to be filled with excitement and adventure, but he'd put himself on a path where his priorities would be different.

A guy in a serious relationship doesn't just go wander the earth in strange lands for undetermined amounts of time.

Bixlow was going to the far north when the next summer came around for a long job and he'd offered to take him and Petri along since they were all batchelors who didn't have anyone to rush home to. Six to nine months in a foreign country was a long time, and during that time, they were going to drink, explore, get into fights, see new things, meet new people…

Yuri wanted that a lot more than he wanted to hang around close to home because he was in a serious relationship. The guys in the guild that were married took shorter jobs, came home more often, and they had obligations.

He dressed his little brother and fed him breakfast, and then went through their daily routine of Yuri spinning him and tossing him in the air and letting him hold onto his hands and pretend he was walking.

His mother was the next one to wake up, and she gripped the rail as she made her way down, feeling awake yet very weak. She saw her sons playing together and smiled at first, then said, "How many times do I have to tell you not to throw that baby around?"

"He likes it, Mom."

She gave her baby son his morning hugs and kisses, but as soon as she put him down, he reached up. "UWWWWIIIII!"

Lucy smiled. "That's so damn cute I can't stand it. It'll be cuter when he learns to say 'Mama.'"

Yuri said, "You're starting to smell different. Better. Are you feeling better?"

"I think I'm not going to feel better even though I'm getting better until I stop taking the treatment helping me. Cancer is a strange thing. You get to see what you would look like as a corpse."

"It's not that bad. You want coffee? I won't tell the girls you're not eating vegetables," he offered.

She accepted his offer, noting how like his father he was. They looked so much alike he was almost a dead ringer for a young Laxus. Even the funny little way he'd help her cheat on her diet reminded her of her husband sneaking her out for ice cream.

When she noticed he seemed tense, she waited patiently for him to pour two cups of coffee and they sat at the table while Lex occupied himself with his toys in the living room.

"What's on your mind?"

Yuri said, "I think I might be an asshole, Mom."

"Language, Thunder Baby. I'm your mother, geeze. Besides, if you are, just remember it runs on your dad's side of the family," she playfully answered, trying to relieve his apparent stress.

It worked, and he couldn't help but feel at ease with his mother. She was always like this; a little catty, but immeasurably lovable to all who knew her.

"Talk to me, son."

He talked to her, and she listened.

Lucy found herself surprised that Yuri had a wild streak in him at all, but he was his father's son and Laxus wasn't always a family man. From his mid-teens to mid-twenties, Laxus was rarely at the guild even when he wasn't expelled and enjoyed about a decade of adventure, fighting, long jobs in strange places, exploring, and more drunken indiscretion than she wanted to think about.

All the parents involved in the Yuri-Lilia relationship thought they were moving too fast, too soon, at an age where they didn't really understand what they were doing. Lucy had always hoped her son would snap out of it and calm down, but now that he had, it was obviously very distressing for him.

When Yuri finished explaining, he said, "So I don't know what to do."

His mother put her hand over his. "You have to be honest about who you are and what you want. You're only going to be young once, trust me. Don't wait your youth is gone to appreciate how important it is."

Yuri had been raised in a house full of women, so he was a little more sensitive than the average guy. All his life he'd tried to take care of everyone else, so doing something that would cause such enormous amounts of harm to Lilia was hard for him to even think about. Yet, he'd been raised well enough and lived just long enough to know sometimes hard decisions had to be made.

He kept trying to think about it from different angles – what if it was one of his sisters? Of course, if a boy slept with one of his sisters, made promises, and then changed his mind, it would be wrong. There would be hell to pay, but then was his problem any different from that?

Lucy knew he'd checked out by the expression on his face and the way he slumped down in the chair.

"Son, I feel like you know what you need to do and you just don't have the nerve to do it," she said.

Yuri nodded. "I don't want to hurt anybody."

Lucy squeezed his hand tightly. "When I first found out I had cancer, for a while I didn't tell anybody, and I just thought about it. I thought about living, and dying, and I remembered when I was about your age and I decided I would run away from home, telling myself I wanted to live a life with no regrets. I don't have any, Yuri. I ran when I wanted to, I went on adventures when I wanted to, I got myself into and out of more trouble than you can imagine, I fell in love when I was damn well ready. I've lived on my own terms, and if I could, I wouldn't change a thing."

She looked over every minute or so into the living room where Lex was currently amusing himself with toys. The little son and big son contrast was always amusing to her, because whatever Lex did, she could remember Yuri doing the same things and he was now a very tall young man. He was strong, kind, smart, and she was so proud of him. As the oldest, their younger kids all looked up to them, and he'd always been a great brother. Willing, kind, responsible.

So maybe it shouldn't have been a big surprise that on the edge of adulthood, he suddenly wanted to be a wild, rowdy teenage boy, his mother decided.

Lucy let him help him back upstairs when she started to feel a little sick, and then Yuri went back down to read the newspaper.

It wasn't usually his habit to care about current events, but the country was in a state of change. Sam's name was in the paper, and he was glad Sam was okay. Everyone who knew Sam had mixed and confused feelings that ranged from disappointment to relief. But his dad said he should always separate a person from their actions. Bad people weren't the only ones who made bad decisions, and sometimes, even the worst did a good thing.

Just a few minutes before he was expecting his sisters to wake up and start getting ready for school, he heard a strange crunching sound and assuming his little brother had found something gross on the floor to put in his mouth, he got up and went to take it from him.

"C'mon. Spit it out. Don't be gross, okay?"

Lex swallowed. "Uwwi!"

And then Yuri saw his mother's pill bottle on the floor, top completely gnawed off and not a pill in sight.

"Oh God…Lex! Tell me you didn't!"

He knelt and pried the baby's mouth open and found it smelled just like his mother's dangerous medicine. Knowing how sick it made her after a regular dose, he was absolutely terrified about what was going to happen to the baby since the whole bottle was empty.

His instincts told him not to scare his mother shitless, but he did run halfway up the stairs.

"Dad!" he shouted.

Laxus was dead asleep when his son yelled, but he was used to children waking him up and he knew Yuri being frantic was generally a bad sign. He threw on pants and a shirt as he ran down, and found Yuri holding the pill bottle and his little brother who was clutching his bottle filled with juice.

"Dad, Lex ate Mom's medicine!"

Laxus was absolutely terrified, as Lex was a normal baby and he had no doubts a half-full bottle of cancer medicine was far more than a deadly dose. "I'm taking him to the hospital right now. Get your mom up."

"Right."

It took very little time to snatch the baby off the floor and lightning form him to the local hospital, where he spread panic to the staff. When he named the medicine, the nurses rushed him back to a doctor, and he was told to wait.

Laxus sat down right outside the exam room and crossed his arms. Never in all their years of raising children had they somehow allowed one of their kids to get into danger like this. He assumed Lucy might have knocked it on the floor, and maybe the lid was loose, or…he really didn't know why it looked like the bottle had been gnawed open.

It only took Lucy about twenty minutes to start throwing up after she took it, so he knew Lex was going to be really sick really soon.

Except that he wasn't.

Lex let out a shriek and Laxus was sure it was just as bad as he imagined, but when he burst into the room, he found a tired and unamused-looking Dr. Chelia Blendy wielding a thermometer.

"Just taking his temperature," she said.

Lex was cranky and grievously annoyed at what had just happened to him, but that seemed to be his only complaint. Once his diaper was back on, he sat up with his juice and glared at her.

Chelia said, "He should have gotten sick the instant the pills started dissolving in his stomach. No way he ate them."

Lucy suddenly burst in, out of breath, her wig a bit lopsided. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine. It looks like he didn't eat them," Laxus said.

His wife exhaled. "Oh thank goodness."

Chelia ran her finger along the gum line to check for any residue or bits that were possibly stuck in his mouth. "Ouch!" she exclaimed as her finger snagged and tore her glove. She examined the gum and said, "Guys, this kid is growing a fang."

"A fang?!" Lucy exclaimed, "that's impossible. That's…I mean, you know he's adopted."

And then, Lex burped and a foamy, purple liquid came from his mouth, dripped on the exam table, and melted it. Then Lex swallowed and sucked on his bottle, which did not melt.

Chelia's jaw gaped a little. "You know, working as a pediatrician in an emergency room, I still never see anything as weird as the stuff your family pulls. I tell people all the time about the crazy family I lived with when I was in school, but this _might_ top the list. I mean, two electric outlet lickers, and a kid who eats deadly prescription medication. Really?"

Lucy took the pill bottle from her husband and noted Lex had chewed it open. "I get it. He's got a fang. So one of his parents has to be a dragonslayer. That's a short list, right? But all these kids that were born to dragonslayers, if they got the dragon genes, they're compelled toward whatever their element is. Poison."

"Poison," Laxus dryly repeated.

As soon as they had that clue, there wasn't a lot of room for doubt. His dark reddish-brown hair and eyes, his tan skin…

Chelia stared at him for a while. She was living with and engaged to a dragonslayer, so she knew the names and abilities of the other dragonslayers. Even though she put the pieces together as well, she didn't say anything.

"I'll just mark down on his chart it was a false alarm. You guys should take him home."

Laxus scooped his son off the table. "Here's to hoping he doesn't drool on the way home."

Lucy signed the paperwork, and they walked back home. Slowly, since Lucy remembered she felt awful as soon as she knew her son was safe.

She leaned in to him.

"Be careful, he might drool or spit up or whatever that was," her husband warned.

She said, "You know this has got to be Cobra's kid."

"…yeah…"

"He died what, eight months before Lex was born? He might not have even known. He was working undercover so he was mixed up with bad people. His mother might be in some dark guild."

Laxus stopped and she looked up at him. " _You_ are his mother. I am his father. I don't care about the rest. We're not going to go looking for anybody. Whoever gave birth to him abandoned him. What if his mother is some terrible person and she tries to take him, or even just confuses him? He doesn't need two moms. The one he has is perfect."

Lucy was almost shocked at how incredibly sensitive and territorial her husband was. He almost looked hurt about the idea that Lucy would even refer to anyone else as his parents. Then again, Laxus had adored the baby from the first time they met him. Adoption had not been a difficult process for anyone in their family.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hit a sore spot. Of course, I don't want anyone else in his life. Especially not a woman. Just wait until he gets an idea about a girl," she answered.

Lex was still sipping at his juice, as if he had no idea why his parents had taken him on this strange trip.

"I can't stand how casual he's being about scaring the living shit out of me," her husband commented.

His mother sighed. "This kid…how do we even take care of a kid that wants to eat _poison_? I mean, is it healthy? Does he need it in order to grow? And if so, are some poisons better than others? What if some poisons are actually poisons to him? I mean, do I fill his bottles with the nearest household cleaners? Or do I grow a nice little patch of nightshade in the yard? Good morning, son, here's your arsenic and bleach smoothie?"

"We'll figure it out. We always do."

Lex burped again and Laxus thrust him out at arm's length so the purple foam dripped onto the sidewalk, where it melted all the way through to the soil underneath.

Laxus sighed. "Let's assume it's only that potent because he just ingested enough poison to kill several adults."

"If we're going to feed him poison, we're going to have to figure out a way to keep him from destroying our house or melting someone's face off. I mean, on one hand, he's got frequent projectile vomiting. And on the other, highly acidic poison. That's kind of terrifying," she answered.

When they got home, they found their other kids had not gone to school and were at present getting ready to go to the hospital to check up on Lex.

Laxus glared at them. "School. Now."

"We were worried about Lex," Anna said.

"He's fine. He's just weird like the rest of you," their mother answered.

Mavis added, "We're going to be tardy, so we need a note."

Lucy headed to the kitchen, but Laxus stopped her.

"I can take care of this. Go rest," he insisted.

Writing notes for tardies, absences, and all signing of school paperwork was typically done by Lucy. Hurrying to the hospital left her tired, and she decided to trust her husband. Worst case scenario, he'd just troll the kids anyway.

And he did, writing a note pleading with the recipient to please take his children for a few hours so he could have a little peace.

"Very mature, Dad," Layla grumbled.

Yuri added, "I'm going to leave from school and head to Shirotsume Town. I need to talk to Lilia about something. Mom will tell you because you guys always to each other about everything."

"On a school night?"

"Dad, it's Friday," Anna said.

"I knew that."

"No, you didn't. Dates and times are confusing to you. It's okay. We still love you," Mavis argued.

Laxus narrowed his eyes. "I have chronic sleep deprivation because I have five kids. Now go to school."

He got three quick kisses on the cheek from his girls and one manly nod of acknowledgement from Yuri as they bounced out the front door and down the sidewalk for a quick sprint to school.

When Lucy came down a couple of hours later, there was a pressure cooker on the stove and Laxus was in the kitchen with his bookkeeping. It was her instinct to go over and see what was in the pot, but just as she reached for it, he quickly told her not to open the lid.

"Why not? Is your cooking that bad?"

"The pot is full of poisonous magic mushrooms and leaves from the East Forest. Inhale those fumes and you'll spend the next few hours watching purple monkeys crawl on the ceiling. The kids can barely take it when you get drunk. I can't imagine what they'd do if they came home from school and found you tripping," he warned.

Lucy smiled and sat with him. "Probably accuse you of doing it. Like when I drink too much while I read and they think you got me drunk."

Laxus looked up at her with his reading glasses on. "You smell different. Better. Every day just a little more."

"Yuri said that."

"What's he off to do, anyway? He said you'd blab to me, because that's what we do. I'm not sure if he understands that's the whole point of getting married," he said.

His wife explained Yuri's complicated issue and Laxus seemed relieved but worried.

When the concoction on the stove finished cooking, Laxus took it outside and let it the steam and fumes escape until it had cooled off.

Lucy packed it up in little containers to freeze and then fed her little baby some highly poisonous but apparently quite delicious smashed concoction of random poisonous things her husband had picked in the East Forest.

Lex gobbled it down while squealing for more and holding his mouth open with his arms waving.

"Geeze, he's like a little baby bird. On the upside, we finally found someone who likes your cooking," she teased.

When Lex finished eating, they took him outside and let him spit poison all over the ground.

Body full of magic, his scent was distinctly that of a dragon and the magic sleeping inside of his body started to wake up. He started sniffing everything, touching, and listening, tilting his ear to hear things his father's sharp senses could detect but his mother's could not.

By the time the girls got home from school, Lex and Lucy were taking their somewhat regular afternoon nap together and Laxus had gone on to the guild to take care of business and lock up the accursed book.

Lucy was feeling good, and it was a good night. The girls cooked for their parents and when Laxus got home, had a nice meal together. They laughed, talked, and played cards. Lucy found these types of experiences so important to making it through the moments that weren't as easy.

Yuri was meanwhile about to take a step closer to adulthood as he sat on the edge of Lilia Eucliffe's bed. Pictures of them adorned her room, and somehow, he was finally starting to understand their parents.

Since Lilia was the product of parents who hated each other and lived with a mother who hadn't been much good to her, she'd always clung to him, since they were young. She wasn't like most of the kids were; she wasn't supremely interested in the life of a wizard.

Yuri grew up in a houseful of women. Women wanted things. They had dreams, desires, things that had nothing to do with men. Without his father, his mother would have been just as interesting, busy, and possibly even more well-accomplished than she was. His sisters were focused, strong, and they wanted things for themselves.

They talked for a while, and it was like he could see more clearly how things were just missing. His mom told him maybe Lilia didn't know who she was outside of him, and that was a dangerous and scary thing for a girl.

"Do you ummm…I mean…what are your goals?"

Lilia smiled at him. "You know."

"I mean, besides me."

Lilia shrugged. "I don't know."

He asked, "Do you have things you want to do for yourself? Like, I want to go and see things and do stuff. I want to travel and see the world. Have adventures."

She tensed and sat next to him. "What's wrong?"

"I think you're really the greatest person ever. And I care about you a lot, but…this doesn't feel right to me anymore."

It was normal to hear that girls matured a lot faster than boys did, but he knew then that somehow, somewhere, he'd grown up more than she had and just hadn't realized it until then. Yuri definitely didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he didn't want to go along with a plan that would have probably made them both unhappy in the end.

Then, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find whatever words he needed to say to help her understand he wasn't breaking up with her because she did anything wrong.

Yuri believed they'd be better off if they lived their own lives long enough to figure themselves out. Even if it was wiser to take this path, it didn't make it any less painful to suddenly change course.

She cried, and then he did, because it was his fault she was sad and he'd spent a great deal of his life trying to make her happy. Some of his earliest memories were of him being preschool age with her and making sure she was never lonely because she was sad when she was little.

Now she was sad again and it was his fault.

The part that he was not prepared for was when she looked up at him and cried, "I gave myself to you."

Truth be told—and he would tell it when he finally got home—he was deeply sorry for sleeping with her. It had been fun, and of course, sex was great. Before they had sex they had a bad case of codependency and puppy love, but afterward things were serious. Sex was largely to blame for how serious their relationship became, and that was what caused them to get ahead of themselves.

Yuri felt like he took something from her and in the end, he couldn't give it back and he was sure she'd probably regret letting him have it in the first place.

All he could say was, "I'm sorry."

He wished he'd always listened to his parents. They warned him about sex, and about getting too serious, and about making plans young, and even about how intensely devoted they were to each other. He and Lilia had ignored all that advice all along under the belief that somehow their parents just didn't understand, but really, their parents knew, and they were the ones that hadn't understood.

"When we get older, in a few years, if we…"

Lilia wiped her face and crossed her arms. "Yuri, don't make me any more promises. You're the nicest guy in the world. You can't even break up with me without crying as much as me. It's not like you're not saying anything my dad doesn't tell me all the time. At some point, no matter how attached to you I am, if everyone who cares about me tells me I'm doing something the wrong way, I have to admit maybe they're right."

"Do you hate me?" he asked.

Lilia looked up at him with puffy eyes. "That's a dumb question to ask a girl who has always loved you. We can be friends, right? I mean, we're going to run into each other sometimes."

"Of course. Even if we're not together, you know if you ever need help or you're in danger or something, I'll help you. You're a really important person to me."

They hugged for a long time and he kissed her hair, and then her lips, and then somehow despite knowing how terribly disastrous it was, he melted onto the bed with her and decided to have one last indiscretion before they parted ways.

It felt strange, like an ending. They laid in her bed afterward, and talked about everything. They talked about all their favorite memories, and laughed about the fun they'd shared as little kids. He told her about the adventures and travel he wanted to have, and she told him she liked staying close to him and she preferred books to brawls.

By the time morning came around, it felt sad but a little bit okay for them to part ways. It was a big moment in both of their lives to just delete all those plans and embark on separate lives, but even Lilia knew it was very important. After laying a lot of plans, suddenly those plans were gone and the future was mysterious again.

Yuri was very sad, but strangely relieved. He felt like he'd grown up a lot, and that he understood life a little bit better. Like anything else in life, they survived, they learned, and they would move on.

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	59. The Victorious Wife

Three months later, Lucy opened the mailbox.

She didn't know how many times she'd done this over the years. It was something she didn't really think about most of the time. Mail was paper. Bills, letters, and junk.

Today, she had an envelope from a laboratory.

There was a part of her that was actually truly afraid to open it, because the past months had been so hard. She'd been so sick, so weak. Cancer was the kind of fight that required a person to give up a lot just to keep going. It was scary, always worrying the next visit would be the one where she heard bad news.

Sometimes Lucy felt like life could be like a good book, but in a book, it would be high time for the children to lose their mother for dramatic effect and for character development.

Lately, she'd felt a lot like writing again because she knew a lot more about how people developed and became who they were. There were five little characters developing in her story and she felt like their growth would be just fine without a big tragedy.

Maybe it was good news, and she'd be able to discontinue treatments, recover, and continue living her life.

Maybe it was bad news, and then life would be one big dark mystery.

She took the letter inside, and put it on the coffee table.

Lex was walking about and exploring the world. He became curious about the letter, took a few steps, and banged his head on the coffee table.

Had he been her first child, she probably would have panicked, but Lex was Number Five and she'd long discovered that if she didn't act like it was a big deal, neither would he.

"Get up, big boy. You're a dragon. You were destined to be hard-headed," she said.

He got up, rubbed his head, and threw his toy at the table in retaliation for it being there in his way. "No!" he shouted at it.

It was late fall, and the smell of leaves wafted in when Laxus came home from lunch, eager to see if the envelope had arrived.

Her husband took a deep breath when he saw it sitting there, unopened.

He would have traded anything and everything for a guarantee that there would be good news. While he knew her journey had obviously been indescribably difficult, it also hard to be a husband to an ill wife. Months of feeling helpless and sometimes angry left him feeling the kind of tired he hadn't known often. He worked hard at the guild and within their family, and when he wasn't busy on one of those, he was trying to look after her.

When he sat next to her on the couch, he decided to ignore his son's apparent anger at the furniture. Lex was a creature almost entirely devoid of logic, yet still seemed intelligent. This made for a somewhat interesting parenting experience.

His wife squeezed his hand. "I love you."

Gently, he leaned down and kissed her. "Love you too. No matter what. We're going to be okay."

"Open it for me," she said, cuddling up to his arm.

He reached out and opened the envelope.

His heart was beating so loud in his ears as he unfolded the paper, because he wanted so desperately for his wife to be well again.

They looked at it, together, and were perfectly still for a minute.

Her clean bill of health fell to the floor as Lucy pounced on her husband and hugged him with near inhuman strength. She wrapped herself around him and did the only thing she felt like doing, which was half-cry, and half-scream out of pure unadulterated joy that they'd somehow made it across this huge valley.

"I love you!" she screamed.

"I love you too," he answered, squeezing her tightly.

"I can be your partner again," she cried.

"You never stopped. You know I can't do anything without you around," he answered.

His eyes were wet, and she kissed his forehead and cupped his face. "You're such a big baby."

"You scared me. I need you. You're my girl," he whispered against her lips.

They kissed again, and again, and again.

It was so good to feel the stress of her illness lift from their shoulders.

From here, Lucy just had to get strong again, and that meant putting weight back, working out, and giving her body some time to get bounce back.

They were **_so_** happy—happy to have made it through the ordeal, happy to be together, happy to be tangled up on the couch while their baby spoke baby curses over their coffee table in his own language for daring to defy him.

Lucy fed her pills to the baby since she no longer needed them, and started to make plans for the big, bright future. She knew Laxus had needed her help and felt so inadequate during her ordeal that he had to do so much on his own. He was a good soldier and a wonderful husband and father and guildmaster, but she knew their situation had pushed him to his limits.

When she snuggled up to him, he said, "So, I'm going to give you some time, but in about a month maybe, you owe me that trip to the beach. I'll buy you some sexy lacy things I can tear up later, and some stilettos you can leave on, then you put on that wig."

She bit the bottom of his lip, and then kissed his nose. "You're so cute. I'm going to rock your world. I just need to eat a few pizzas and get some big fake titties."

Laxus looked down at her chest. "You want 'em?"

"It's actually kind of nice not having them, but I know how you are. All tits and ass and 'get over here and let me drill you into the earth,'" she said.

Her husband took her hand. "I don't want you to be cut again. I'm happy with how you are right now, and I think you are too. You don't need to change anything. Just get better."

"I love you," she said, reaching out to cup his cheek.

"I love you more," he answered, turning to kiss her palm gently.

It was one of the happiest moments of their marriage. Of course, it was nothing compared to the joy of having babies and watching them grow, but it meant more than either could possibly describe to have faced such a scary opponent and achieved victory.

They clutched held each other so tightly until a certain toddler weaseled his way between them with his substantial strength as a little dragon.

"You want to go out and eat? Anything you want," he offered.

Lucy nodded. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Yes. I usually don't date chicks with kids, but I'll make an exception in this case," he playfully answered.

She smiled and ruffled her son's thick hair. "Your daddy is so silly!"

Lex loved his father and wanted desperately to be like him to the point sometimes he puffed out his chest when he walked because he thought this made him more like Dad. Yet he was still a little baby dragon and little boy dragons were possessive of their mothers and their sisters.

There was a knock on the door and Laxus stood to answer it to find Baby Orga. They hadn't seen him in quite a while, so there had been some talk between Laxus and Lucy that maybe he'd finally become discouraged and given up.

"Is Mavis here?" he asked.

Laxus shook his head. "No. She's at school. Where you should probably be."

"I already took my equivalency exam."

Lucy asked, "Really? You must be really smart!"

Baby Orga was slightly insulted by how surprised she was by this. "Anyway, I just came to see how she's doing."

Lucy was really looking forward to going out on a hot date with her husband and eating like a pig. She loved her kids, but she really wanted to celebrate with her husband. They'd be home in about an hour, and so she suddenly had an idea.

"Orga, could you watch Lex for an hour? I know you and Mavis have watched him before. She'll be home in an hour. You're reasonably responsible and he's nearly indestructible. You two will be fine for an hour."

Orga shrugged. "Sure. I'll try to keep him out trouble. I babysit for Master Sting sometimes."

"Be careful. He's been uhh…biting lately. Make yourself at home. You can grab something to eat if you just came into town," Lucy said.

Lucy and Laxus went upstairs to change, and while they did, Orga made a sandwich in the kitchen while being stared down by a fierce-looking toddler. Lex was dragging a stuffed dinosaur toy, but had murder in his eyes as he didn't have a clear understanding of who Orga was or why he was acting like he lived there.

Since Orga hadn't come around in quite a while, Lex had no active knowledge of him.

Orga was a nice kid though, and so he cut a bite off the soft sandwich and offered it to Lex, who bit down hard on his finger to get it. "Ow!"

Once it was in his mouth, Lex, stuck his tongue out and let it fall on the floor.

"Okay, little guy. Whatever you say. Let's be friends, okay?"

"No!"

Laxus and Lucy were gone by the time the other kids came home from school, but they'd left a note for them explaining the cause for the celebration, so the kids had their own mini-celebration, complete with cheering and relief and baking a cake together in the kitchen for their mother for when she came home.

Mavis was happy to see Orga, although she pretended she wasn't.

She was a complicated creature, stuck somewhere between her tough personality and traits that seemed to be in conflict with it. She was a tomboy, but she was _really_ girly around her baby brother, and about keeping her hair long, and sometimes she blushed really hard around him and he loved when he could make her do that even though she always pretended she hated it.

Iggy and Petri came over, because that was just the thing to do on a boring weeknight. They along with Yuri were all still healing from bruises and cuts incurred during a job over the weekend. The job itself had been fine, but on the way home they ran into some creature in the forest and Petri, being a risk-loving adrenaline junkie, convinced them to wake it up to see if it was as strong as it looked.

It beat the crap out of them and then went back to sleep, leaving them to limp home. When they got home and had to explain to their guildmaster how they ended up beaten to hell, Laxus just stared at them, called them idiots and rolled his eyes.

This caused them to lose the all-important game that had been borne out of how naturally competitive Petri and Layla were. Yuri, Petri, and Iggy had been going on jobs at the same time as Layla, Anna, and Mavis, effectively pitting the girls against the boys.

For the past six weeks, their schedules were predictable:

On Tuesday, they'd all be standing at the jobs board, trying to find a suitable weekend task. It was a highly secretive process that led to meetings in Layla's bedroom and Iggy's treehouse. They plotted, they planned, they made arrangements and snuck around to try and keep the other team from ever finding out which job they were taking.

By Thursday, they had train tickets and a plan.

On Friday, Mavis and Iggy raced each other to the guild before school started to claim their job just in case they had their eyes on the same job, and after school, the two teams would depart, only to show up again late Sunday or in the early hours of Monday.

Monday night was the night of reckoning, and the losing team had to buy dinner at an expensive restaurant for the whole group.

The boys tended to lose because they were more likely to get themselves into trouble on the way to or from the job. They didn't seem to mind taking the girls out and paying for it, and the girls had no complaints either.

Then on Tuesday, the cycle would start up again.

They were working hard, achieving great focus, and growing really fast as each week meant they'd complete the best job they could possibly squeeze into the weekend.

This also meant during the week that they were trying to gain intel from the other team, which made their young romances a lot more interesting.

Orga was a little envious of the process, but the Dreyars always seemed to be doing something fun.

Once the kids finished decorating the cake, he tried to talk Mavis into showing him her room. She reluctantly agreed, but just as they were going upstairs, Lex called for his sister.

"Maviiiii!"

Mavis picked him and his dinosaur up. "He's a brat, right?"

"Runs in the family?" Orga teased.

They went upstairs, and Mavis showed Orga her room, sitting on the edge of the bed with him.

"So this is where you sleep," he said as he looked around.

"Yes, you could not talk about it like you just found a cave with a monster in it," she crossly answered.

Orga teased, "It kind of is."

She just looked so damn cute to him he couldn't help himself and he reached out and tried to tickle her and was amazed when she, the oh-so-serious, terrifying Mavis Dreyar broke out into little girl giggles.

He kicked his shoes off when she hit him with the pillow and threatened to kill him and then Orga proceeded to attempt to tickle her half to death.

The fun and games ended with a high-pitched, pained shriek when Orga's bare foot and ankle hung off the bed in close enough proximity to Lex the boy simply reached out, grabbed it, and sunk all five of his teeth in Orga's foot, fangs dripping with poison.

Baby Orga flipped off the other side of the bed and clutched his foot tightly.

"Owwwwww! Motherfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffugh," he hissed through his teeth, trying to catch himself from being too vulgar in front of Mavis and the baby. "He bit me…what…why does it burn?"

Mavis looked over at his ankle, which was bleeding and had purple foam around the tiny little punctures. And then she looked over at the toddler on the other side of the bed, who was clutching his dinosaur with a decidedly pissed off expression.

Lex was obviously angry, that much was quite clear. What was not clear was whether he'd somehow misinterpreted the boy rolling around with his sister while she said, 'no, stop,' or if he was simply just being a little jerk of a toddler, angry his sister left him on the floor to roll to laugh and play with another male.

The girl decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Sorry, he has a little uhh…problem. I'll get you a bandage and we'll just hope your foot doesn't rot off. I mean, c'mon. He has five teeth, stop whining already."

Orga was a tough kid by anyone's estimation, but the poison burn left him panting through gnashed teeth. "My skin is melting off, Mavi!"

"And crying about it helps how?" she asked.

He sat back up on the edge of the bed and tried not to wince or curse while Mavis cleaned the foamy purple venom from his tiny little acid-burned wounds and then wrapped a bandage around his foot.

Mavis put Lex on the bed and said, "It was probably just a misunderstanding."

"He hates me."

"Does not."

And then Lex crawled over and started leaning on Orga.

"Mavi, he's trying to push me out of the bed."

Mavis gave Lex a pat on the head. "Let's be nice, okay?"

"Nooo!"

"You want him to go away?"

Lex nodded.

Orga sighed deeply, because he really just wanted some quality time with his beloved. Mavis was dangerous all by herself, but he also had to look out for her brothers, big and little. He believed the baby was probably the most worthy of his fear at the moment.

They eventually took Lex next door to Petri and Layla, who were reading magic books.

Orga stared in disbelief as Petri held up his hand and Lex gave him a high five.

"Little Dude! What's up?" Petri said, going over to his bag for a paper bag tightly wrapped. He tore it open, and Lex gave him another high five and took Petri's offering, a wild-looking vine.

Orga glared. "What?! Why doesn't he bite you?"

Petri said, "Poison ivy. You got to be nice to this kid. He's a crazy little dude."

Layla answered, "You better hope he doesn't get that anywhere in my room. I wake up with a poison ivy rash and I'll teach you what crazy is."

"It's cute when you're angry," Petri playfully answered.

Anna entered the room with an unamused expression to grab a book off her shelf. "Go ahead, Petri. Make her angry. You'll never come out from under your bed after she gets finished with you. The last guy that got on her nerves left town and assumed a new identity."

She looked down at Orga's foot, and looked down at Lex as he sat on the floor with his vine. "Did you bite?"

Lex nodded.

"That's bad! Biting is bad, Lex!"

Anna was stern as she fussed at him, and he looked up at her with an expression that suggested he knew well why he was getting it as he sat there sucking on a mouthful of leaves. He was unrepentant, and they all knew it.

From the view of the young men, Lex was a menace, but the girls weren't surprised because in Lex's mind, Lex was a menace too—that much was quite clear.

He'd bitten all of the boyfriends, but Orga was the only one to get a poisonous bite.

They put Lex on the bed and attempted to teach him about why he shouldn't bite, and the boys stood in the there and watched while they surrounded him and gave him their complete attention.

He looked up at them, as if to gloat in his success.

Yuri heard the fuss and came to claim his brother. "C'mon, little guy. You're not big enough to cause this much trouble. You can hang out with me. We're both single guys. No girls want to be with us, sorry."

He took his troublemaking brother off to his room so his sisters could have some peace and quiet even though he knew his father purposefully used Lex to distract his sisters from their boyfriends. Who could ruin a moment better than a biting, attention-whoring toddler? No one.

Mavis and Orga went back to Mavis' room, and the girl shut the door and plopped back down on the bed.

"Anyway, why do you keep coming around? I'm not really nice to you," she said.

He sat down on the other side of the bed. "I think you're a really amazing girl. You're really smart and cool, and you don't take crap from anybody. Plus, you're so pretty. I like your hair, and your eyes, and that look on your face when you're pissed off at me."

There was a part of Mavis that absolutely hated how he could compliment her looks and she couldn't help but blush. Badass or no, when a cute boy told her she was pretty, she felt her cheeks sting.

Orga smiled at her. "You know, my family's not from Fiore. I have family on one of the southern islands, Komaku. There's a volcano there. We come from a tribe of really wild people."

"Really? I always knew you weren't civilized."

Orga shrugged. "Anyway, in our culture, the women that are considered the best are the ones who are strongest. Like, on the island the women have to be good at throwing harpoons, hunting, rock and tree climbing, fighting, stuff like that. The best women are the fiercest warriors."

"That's pretty cool."

"Right? My dad and I were visiting, so that's why I wasn't around. Next year I become a man and get my tattoos."

(Mavis already knew this because _maybe_ she'd happened to stop by Sabertooth on one of their jobs to find out why she hadn't seen him. She would deny to the end of the earth she had been concerned he'd been injured or simply lost interest.)

He flexed his muscles, and she rolled her eyes.

She felt dreadfully conflicted, torn between wanting to throw him out of the bed and bite him herself and wanting to snuggle a little closer. Or maybe she'd throw him off the bed, bite him, and then snuggle—that was normal, right? Indignation and hormones pumped through her in nearly equal measure, but the latter eventually won and she moved over, and then moved over a little more.

Orga was still at first, because trying to romance Mavis Dreyar was like trying to tame a wild animal. She would either take it well or attack him, and he knew better than to make any suddenly moves.

When she got close enough, he raised his arm and gently put it around her.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked.

"If you promise not to tell."

"I promise."

Their lips came closer, and closer, and met oh-so-gently.

Mavis didn't want to be that girl looking starry-eyed at a boy, but she was and she decided maybe it was okay. But if anyone caught her like this, she had a mind to fervently deny her feelings. She could hear his heart pounding in his chest, and she liked that. It was fun to make someone's heart race, rather be it from fear or this.

She really didn't know how long they stayed like that—it felt so right and good and her heart pounded too.

The door suddenly opened and Mavis realized she'd been paying so much attention to the rhythm of Orga's heart that her sharp senses missed the sound of the biggest of all the dragons making his way down the hall.

Laxus opened the door and found Mavis snuggled up with her hand on Orga's face, lips on his.

He scowled.

Mavis pushed Orga away. "Get away!"

Her father's brow rose at how his daughter was obviously the aggressor in this exchange yet she was telling him to get away from her. "Really, Mavis?"

Laxus said, "Orga, you're going to miss the last train headed home. I would really like you to be on it, if I have to drag you there myself."

"I was going to stay the night, then I'm headed east. There's a place I can rent a room on Broom St."

Laxus sighed. "You can stay for free here if you can keep my daughter out of your bed. I have an extra bedroom."

"DAD!"

With that, she pushed Orga onto the floor. "It's not what it looks like! Anyway, who cares! Mom's back!"

The kids bounded downstairs with hugs to serve their mother cake and ice cream.

Yuri and Lex came back from buying flowers for her.

The house was full like always, so the atmosphere was lively, noisy, and happy. Lucy was delighted by the little reception, and the cake. With that many people around, sometimes their home seemed like a big party all the time, and she was quite all right with that.

Sometimes, she could remember being lonely, but those memories had faded over the years.

Lucy felt like she was on top again. Or, at least she was poised to get back to the best things in life, her family and her guild and her wonderful husband. She couldn't help but hug on his arm and keep him as close as possible. He was just fine with that, because right next to her was the only place he wanted to be anyway. They'd been together too long, lived too much of their lives together, and could not be separated.

Yuri and Lex came back from buying her flowers, and Lex was holding the bouquet with an iris petal hanging from the corner of his mouth.

Lucy took the flowers while Anna got her a vase with water. "Oh, my boys are so good to me! Who wants Mama kisses?" she asked as she tucked the flowers into the vase.

Lex stretched his arms out. "Me!"

"Were you a good boy?"

He nodded.

And Lucy heard literally everyone else in the room sigh simultaneously. Lex may have been adopted, but he was the undisputed favorite and his parents spoiled him because they were a little older and a little softer.

She pulled Yuri down by the collar so she could reach and kissed him on the cheek. "I love both my baby boys. So handsome and sweeeeet! And my baby girls, oh, you're all getting so big, so wonderful and strong. You picked some good boyfriends too."

She pinched Iggy's cheek. "You look like your Daddy. So handsome. I almost want to cry sometimes when I think about how much you've all grown up."

Yuri realized it first while Lucy was gushing over them nearly tearfully as she tore into a big slice of cake.

Their mom was drunk.

Lucy Dreyar was drunk, eating cake, and quite happy with the world.

Wine was his mother's primary enemy when it came to drinking and their father was an enabler. If there was ever anything she wanted to do, he made sure she could. So if Lucy, his wife of seventeen years, wanted to celebrate with a glass of wine or six, that's what they'd do.

Anna realized not long after and looked up to find their father's eyes seemed slightly warmer than normal and a little droopy. She giggled a bit and wondered if someday she and Iggy would be going out drinking and then trying to hide it from their kids.

She and Iggy had been spending a decent amount of time watching his new pink-haired baby sister, Jane. When they weren't doing that, she was learning to fly with Rai the Exceed, who was finally big enough to carry her. And, contrary to what anybody believed, it took a lot of practice and trust for a cat to become ready to fly in a fight.

Iggy wasn't really one to muse about the future very much—Anna wasn't sure if he had the ability to think more than five minutes ahead. She liked that about him, because he wasn't too serious about anything. He had his mother's gentle personality but his father's temper on any occasion that a friend was in trouble.

Anna was just happy to have a special friend like him to spend her time with.

XXX

When Lucy was sleeping off her hangover the next morning, her children were running about in a hurry getting ready for their next job. Mavis left early to grab the job off the wall, and that meant Laxus had to go in before both of them to approve the jobs. Bags were packed, and the kids ran on to school, boys and girls planning on going on their respective jobs right after school was out.

Orga hung around to eat leftover cake with Lucy and Lex for breakfast and went on to catch the train for his own job.

Without being heavily medicated, Lucy felt wonderful by the end of Friday, and then Saturday, and Sunday came around. The cloud of nausea had lifted, and her body felt better just getting plenty of protein and keeping it down.

On Sunday, Laxus had to go to the guild because a new member had joined, and after setting him up in the dorm, putting the guild mark on, and getting to know him just enough, he came back home.

It was quiet, but they were starting to get used to quiet weekends with the older kids running out on jobs each week. When they were gone, he and Lucy just hung out and entertained their youngest son, but he wasn't even in the house.

"Babe, where's the kid?"

Lucy shouted from their bedroom. "He's staying overnight with Gajeel and Levy!"

"Why?" he casually asked as he made his way down the hall to her.

And there she was, sitting on the edge of the bed in black lace. She had on tiny little black panties and no bra, but she had the long, pink-streaked wig on and a somewhat devilish smile.

"Hi."

Laxus smirked. "Hi."

When she'd started taking cancer treatments, her libido had evaporated instantly. She hadn't wanted sex, and he hadn't wanted to have it with her when she didn't really want it. In the beginning, they'd had an issue where she wanted to help him achieve release even if they weren't having sex, but Laxus was nearly incapable of performing if he knew she wasn't into it.

Now that the accursed medication was working its way out of her system, she had a certain look in her eyes he hadn't seen in a long time.

Lucy stood up, walked over to him, and started to unbutton his shirt. "Do you know we haven't had sex in seven months?"

"Yes."

"A lot of things have changed since then. With me. My body. I'm feeling pretty good right now, if you want to try," she said.

She was right; her body was completely different than the last time they'd had sex. They'd fought an entire war since then, but he was more than ready to resume intimate relations with her.

Laxus kissed her on the nose. "Let me shower first. Natsu challenged me to a scrap, and I'm sweaty and I smell like ashes."

"You won?"

"That baby isn't letting him sleep. It was like slapping a zombie around."

He started to undress, throwing his clothes on the floor until he felt her eyes upon him. He picked them up and carried them to the hamper. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"I think. Hurry up though—I'm tired of waiting on you," she teased.

Laxus took a quick shower, feeling excited, and grateful.

Mentally, he cautioned himself to be extremely gentle. He was concerned she'd injure more easily since her body was still weak and because she didn't have much meat on her bones. When he crawled into the bed naked, he left her take the lead.

Lucy kissed him long, and then deeply.

They took their time, relishing every breath, every touch, every whisper.

Laxus still wasn't entirely convinced she was ready to have sex yet, so he kissed down from her lips, then down her neck, then to her scars. He kissed down one of the scars, then down the other one, just to make sure she knew he was completely okay with them.

He continued down further, down her belly to the faded stretch marks and the Caesarian scar she had from her last pregnancy with the twins.

With one smooth move of his mouth, his fangs cut her g-string and he tossed it aside, grinning at her surprised little yelp.

"Could you not tear up my panties?"

"I'll buy you some new ones," he playfully answered, kissing the top of her slit. "Now hush. If you can talk by the time I'm done with you, I've lost my touch."

His wife fisted her hands in his hair when he dragged his fang down one labia and then bit teasingly.

Lucy gasped when his tongue slid past his lips because when it came to this, she was always at his mercy. It was a little-known fact that dragonslayers had _absurdly_ long tongues, but he didn't make use of that until later on. Her husband had a method, and she couldn't get enough of it.

First, he'd kiss her over and over, letting his lips do all the work. Then, he'd lightly incorporate his tongue, flicking it against her clit while she was panting in need. Third, he'd suck on it until she was on the edge, and then he'd keep her there.

She could only compare his strategy of edging her for what felt like an eternity to how a housecat might keep a mouse alive for hours before finally finishing the job. There was a part of him that just loved having her beg for it, and beg she did.

Then he made proper use of his talented, hot tongue until she had an orgasm, at which point she rolled over and closed her legs.

"Get up here, Honey. I want you inside me like I haven't wanted anything in my life," she purred.

He kissed his wife as he moved up, propping himself up on one elbow as he put a hand over hers and squeezed it tightly. With great care, he positioned himself, careful not to rest to much weight on her still fragile body and to be considerate that she hadn't had sex in a long time.

The woman he still regarded as the most beautiful woman in the world wrapped her legs around him and pulled him down.

Laxus eased into her gently, and slowly, and groaned at how incredibly perfect she felt. His movements were careful, and well-measured. He knew they'd have plenty of time for the kind of crazy, hardcore fucking that gave them a houseful of kids and over a decade and a half of fantastic sex, but right now was an occasion for the gentlest lovemaking he was capable of.

He took her up slowly, and then over the edge with him, not wanting to take too long and tire her out or take so little time she wasn't satisfied.

Lucy dug her nails into his back and came at the same time as he did, letting the feeling of his cum heighten her own climax.

Then, they snuggled together and just kissed for an hour.

Finally, she laid against his chest. "That was perfect."

"You're perfect," he said.

"Can we stay like this forever?" she asked.

Laxus nodded. "And ever."

She reached a hand up to his silky silver hair. "I can't imagine what my life would have been like without you. I don't know what I would have done. When I look back, I always know I got the most important things in life right."

"I'm a real lucky bastard. I don't care what happens, as long as you stay here with me."

There was a thud, and the sound of the front door opening.

Lucy looked up at the time. "I guess one of the teams made it home already."

"I hear heels on the floor—it's either the girls or our son is keeping a very weird secret from us."

Lucy giggled and went to get pajamas from her dresser so she could go downstairs and check on her babies. "Anyway, once I'm back to my best, I've decided I want to go on jobs sometimes. With the girls. That just seems like so much fun, and Gramps only asked me to retire because he was worried someone would try to use me against you. I'm really strong now, and if someone wanted to do that, they could just use the kids anyway."

"You want to go on jobs?"

"Yes. You and Lex can have some man time together. Look, that whole cancer thing took a lot of fight. It made my body weaker and I aged more in the past six months than in the last ten years. I know it's going to get better, but honestly, I want to have a few more adventures. Gramps asked me to retire for your sake, but you're a strong guildmaster and you're well-established. I don't think there's any conflict," she said.

Laxus nodded. "Anything you want, Babe. Just be careful. I've heard our girls are quite something when they're on jobs. I can't imagine that's going to get better with their mother going along. Once you make a recovery, I'm more than fine with that. Lex and I will survive."

He followed her down to check on the girls, only to find their job had been profitable, short, and uneventful. They ate snacks, threw their clothes in the wash, took showers, and headed to bed, and their parents followed suit.

Laxus held her while she slept, knowing she really _was_ going to grow old with him, and all in the world seemed perfect again.

 ** _Please Review!_**

Next Chapter: A time skip!

Special thanks to Guest, kurahieiritr JIO, ladyallyssa, chipthemunkey, helenezakl, screeney, pandorababe, fairyglitterXD, b2utifulshawol, bwolloves, armydancer01, katiekat2001, jerricahmmcfarl3, 17, guest, shka, sassykitten1701, caityhrt, tiernank, light heartfilia, jenheartAI, paname, arouraleona, and terrakion96 for reviewing!


	60. The Wisdom of an Aging Dragon

**Six Years Later**

Even with his sharp hearing, he almost missed the sound of one of his babies over the rain pouring outside. Laxus wasn't sure if he heard it at first, so he reached for the warm body next to him and then grumbled because his wife was on a job with Levy.

Sometimes, he felt like two forty-something women shouldn't be allowed to have that much fun, but after raising kids and helping him with the guild Lucy damn well earned it.

Lucy usually went on one job or two short jobs each month, because her husband would throw an absolute fit if she left him alone for more than a week. And for the most part, she almost always went with Team Blonde which included her daughters. They were a fearsome bunch of women, and no one wanted to cross them.

Yuri was twenty-two, Layla was twenty, the twins were eighteen, and Lex was seven, so they'd successfully completed parenting the older kids (for the most part).

He heard the crying again and pulled on his pajama pants and a t-shirt, then made his way down the hall, where he knocked lightly on his daughter's door before cracking it open.

"Anna, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing!" she huffed.

He flipped on the light and sat on the edge of the bed. "Baby, you're crying in the dark, by yourself, in the middle of the night. I know something is wrong. You can tell me, you know. I might be able to help."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Baby, please. I can handle whatever it is. Trust me. I'm old."

Anna reached for a tissue box on her bed and blew her nose. "I want to tell you, but you have to promise not to be mad at me, and not to kill anybody."

Laxus' brow rose. "I don't like where this is going. I'll promise not to be mad at _you_. Is that okay?"

His daughter reached over him and opened the drawer on her nightstand, only to find it contained no less than fourteen pregnancy tests, all positive.

He gasped as he looked up.

She cried, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I know you're really disappointed."

Anna broke down into sobs again and Laxus pulled her close against his chest. It was his instinct as a father to comfort her, and it overrode his other fatherly instincts which compelled him to find Iggy and snap his head off his neck.

He rubbed her back. "I don't know how I feel, but I'm not disappointed. I feel…I don't know. Stunned."

This just made her cry harder, and he really didn't know what to do besides just keep hugging her. He felt like the world had abruptly started turning in the opposite direction, and one wrong move and he'd mess everything up.

When she finally let go of him, he took a tissue and wiped her eyes.

Sometimes he was glad he was older and a little wiser, because life had taught him to spend as little time as possible lamenting the unchangeable facts and more time finding out what do to about those things.

Anna laid there on her pillows with puffy eyes. "I'm sorry."

Laxus leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You don't have to apologize to me. You didn't really do anything wrong, you know. Although…I think the last time we had any kind of conversation about sex, you told me you and Iggy decided to wait until you were married."

"We only did it once, Dad. We just got a little carried away, and we just couldn't stop. That must make me sound really dumb and immature," she said.

It was at this point that he realized there was absolutely no point at all in bringing attention to the most obvious facts. She was young and she and Iggy didn't have any business having a kid when they still had growing to do, both as a couple but more importantly as individuals.

Anna was smart enough to know that, so she didn't need a reminder from him. She seemed well aware of the downsides, and they were weighing heavily on her and dragging her into a state of fear and dismay.

His job as a father wasn't to point out how she'd messed up; life would do that for him.

He squeezed her hand. "Sometimes adults get carried away too. It's part of life. It's part of growing close to somebody you really care about. Maybe bad judgment, but I don't think it's necessarily wrong. You're old enough to make your own decisions, and you're old enough to stand by them and live with what happens after."

She just started crying again, and he squeezed her hand again.

"Anna, you need to calm down. It's not good for the baby or for you for you to be this upset. It won't change anything. And honestly, it's not as bad as you think."

"I'm a pregnant teenager, Dad."

Her father laid down in the bed next to her and forced her to snuggle up. "But you're eighteen. Not fifteen or fourteen and still in school. You have a profession. You have a good relationship with someone who is good for you."

Anna rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm scared, Dad."

"I'm scared for you to because this is a huge thing. I have faith in you, so I think you'll be okay."

Anna sniffed. "You must think I'm a big slut."

"You're a good girl, and I'll keep believing that even though you went out and got knocked up. I always assumed it would be one of your sisters if it happened," he said.

Anna smiled a little. "I love you, Dad. You're the best. You were the person I was most afraid of telling. I mean, I knew you'd be pretty okay with me, but I don't really want you to kill Iggy either."

"Oh, that little shit is dead."

"I'm going to have his baby, Daddy. Do you want me to be a single mother?"

"Ugh. Fine. Maybe I'll just break his legs."

Anna asked, "What are we going to do?"

"That's something you two have to figure out for yourselves. Whatever you do, you know you both have families and lots of people who will help you. We'll help you. Once your Mom gets over the shock, I think she'll be okay—she got into the wine and demanded Yuri give her grandchildren a couple of months ago," he said.

His daughter let out a little laugh. "I love Mom so much. She's just the best everything."

"Isn't she?"

Her father had been the person she was most afraid of telling, but he had a certain way about him. Maybe it came with age, or from being a parent, or from being a guildmaster, but there he was the gentlest person to those he cared about. He understood well the human side of being a protector, so no matter what, she felt safe.

"You're a really good dad."

He shrugged off the compliment. "When you're a parent, you just want your kids to be okay. The way a parent feels about their child is different from any other kind of relationship. It's the most forgiving. It's very powerful. You'll see soon."

Anna still wasn't sure if there was a problem in the world that couldn't be cured by snuggles from Dad.

He reached over and opened the drawer, and laughed at all the tests. "Why on earth did you take so many tests?"

"I thought the first one might be wrong, so I took another, and then another, and then another, until I finally ran out of hope and pee," she sadly answered.

He squeezed her again. "It's all right, Baby. I promise. Somehow or another, everything is going to work out. Crying about it alone won't help anything. You should go to sleep and try to get some rest."

He tucked her in, kissed her goodnight, and stayed and rubbed her back until she really went to sleep.

When he made his way back to his own room, he was barely halfway back to sleep when he heard the front door open quietly downstairs. With a sigh, he got out of bed and headed downstairs to meet his wife, who was just coming in from her job.

Just one set of lights were on right inside the door, so the living room was dimly lit when he greeted her with a hug and a kiss.

"Hey Honey. Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" she cheerfully and quietly asked.

He nodded. "The world has turned upside down."

"Uh-oh, did you lose your wedding ring again?"

Laxus shook his head. "Uhh…not really sure how to tell you this. But uhhh…"

Lucy wasn't used to her husband being indirect with her unless it involved sexual innuendo. "What is it?"

"Let's go upstairs."

Lucy waved him off. "Let me throw my clothes in the wash at least. They stink like a man has been wearing them. Have you ever thought about how sweaty women smell like men, and dirty men smell like animals?"

"No, I actually haven't thought about that. Ever."

While she was dumping her dirty clothes in the wash and cursing the monster that interrupted her perfectly good bonding time with Levy, she wondered what her husband was dancing around. Then she shrugged and assumed he'd probably done something she would not be pleased with, and she'd fuss at him, maybe huff and puff for a few hours, and then they'd sex it out and snuggle.

So she wasn't surprised when she went upstairs and found him sitting on the edge of their bed, looking a little pensive.

"Honey, what did you do this time?" she asked as she sat on his lap.

Laxus decided to just blurt it out.

"Anna's pregnant."

Lucy just stared at him, until she became cross-eyed. "Anna who?"

"The one that came from your body. You know, our kid."

Lucy felt like she'd just been hit upside the head with something so hard it didn't even hurt, so she just stood there with a blank look on her face. Her mouth gaped open in surprise and as the seconds wore on, she actually became cross-eyed.

"Our daughter is…wow. Wow. Oh my God, Laxus, our baby is going to have a baby? How is that even possible?"

Laxus gestured with his hands as he spoke slowly and gently, as if to a child. "Well, Lucy, sometimes when a mommy idiot and a daddy idiot want to go out on jobs alone for long periods of time…"

"Hey, don't put this on me!"

"You're the one who said, 'She's a good girl, what's going to happen?' If I remember correctly, I said, 'that's how people get pregnant.'"

Lucy asked, "Is she okay? Is she sick?"

"I think she's fine. She was upset and miserable earlier, but I managed to get her to go to sleep."

"Does Iggy know?"

Laxus shook his head.

Lucy gave his hair a pet. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why are you petting me like a dog?"

"I'm trying to comfort you! Do you want me to stop?"

He growled at her and she thumped him on the nose. "Bad dog! Can you be serious? Our baby is going to have a baby!"

Laxus hugged her. "I feel strangely wise and calm. But wait until I get my hands on that little fucker."

"…you sure 'fucker' is the word you want to use? It's almost too appropriate."

"Babe, let me have my awesome father moment, is that okay?"

Lucy's mind raced at the idea that their daughter was going to have a baby. There were literally so many things to think about that she didn't even know where to start. "Has she been to a doctor?"

"No."

"Okay, I'll take her tomorrow. I wonder what's going to happen though. She and Iggy are so young. But I guess she's only three years younger than I was when Yuri was born. It's amazing how I thought of myself as a full-fledged adult at her age but can't help but think of her as a kid. I guess she'll always be our kid, no matter what age. But still…we're going to be grandparents."

"What? Goddammit, how did I not realize that?"

Lucy rolled onto the bed. "Her baby is going to be our first grandchild."

"I don't want to be a grandparent. I refuse."

"Too bad. I mean, what if our five kids all have five kids each? That's like twenty-five kids. We could have our own army," she said.

Laxus sulked. "I already have an army. It's called _Fairy Tail_. God, I wonder what she has growing in there. The Strauss blood has weird transforming magic, then there's celestial magic, fire dragon, lightning dragon, maybe some light magic…"

"It's settled. Our baby is growing a monster," his wife answered.

His wife was quiet for a while she considered the future before them. Her feelings were much like his in that yes, she was unhappy her daughter had an unplanned pregnancy, but Anna wasn't tragically young. Plus, she and Iggy had done nearly everything right, avoiding the trap of overattachment and growing well together.

Iggy looked most like his father, but he was sweet like Lisanna. He treated Anna well, and with great respect. Sure, he had his 'Natsu' moments, but if one of their kids had to have a kid…

"Well, better Anna than…any of our other kids," she mumbled.

Her husband answered, "I didn't want to say that because it seemed mean, but yes."

Lucy snuggled up to him. "Our family is going to grow again, and this time I'm not the one who is knocked up. Just think about it: we can get baby snuggles, then leave the baby with the parents for nights of screaming and fussing."

"There _is_ something just indescribably satisfying about that thought."

She asked, "I wonder what they're going to do. For the baby's sake, it's obviously better for the parents to be together. They could live with us. Or with Natsu and Lisanna."

Her husband considered this, then said, "Iggy's a nice kid, but he and Anna are grown, Lucy. A grown man doesn't want to start a family in another man's house. That's just not how men work and I think they probably have other options."

They talked until the fell asleep, and Lucy awoke late the next morning to find nearly everyone else was awake.

There were basically six adults living in the house, doing different things. The girls still went on missions together most of the time, and sometimes with their mother. It wasn't uncommon for them to participate in other teams. Anna and Iggy did quite a few jobs together, and Mavis frequently went out with Layla.

Yuri and Petri's friendship had fared much better than the short and ill-fated romance between Petri and Layla. They were always together, always on jobs, and always having way more fun than was acceptable. Reputation-wise, they were S-Class wizards who had become notorious for big jobs, big battles, girls, and partying.

Layla and Yuri had developed somewhat opposite dating issues:

Yuri slept with a lot of girls, but never had a girlfriend after Lilia. He hadn't even brought a girl home, but had a policy of not whoring around in Magnolia, which was a great relief for everyone.

Layla dated habitually, but never got serious with any of her boyfriends. In the end, she rejected them all for 'just not being right,' starting with Petri.

Lucy went past Anna's room and found her lying in bed, awake but clearly pensive. She went in, sat on the edge of the bed, and bent down to kiss her cheek.

"Good morning, Mom."

Lucy put her hand on her daughter's belly. "Good morning to you, Mom."

Anna cringed and pulled the covers up. "Dad told you?"

"Of course he did."

"Are you mad?"

"Not really. I'm like your dad. It's not the best news, but the sky isn't falling and the world isn't going to end. I know the future probably seems pretty scary right now, but the next few months of your life are going to be really exciting and happy."

And then, just to make sure she didn't put too much rosy paint on the future, she added, "Exciting, with stretch marks, indigestion, weight gain, cravings, stress, spotting, back aches, and peeing thirty times a day. After that you get a few months of never sleeping more than three hours in a row and then eighteen years of assorted inconveniences."

"Thanks, Mom. Grammy. Grandma. Grams. Whatever you're going to be called."

Lucy said, "When you were little I picked Gams and Grams for us. Grams to a Grandmonster. Your dad and I were talking about it. God knows what you have in there. But come on down and eat some breakfast and we'll get you in to the doctor, okay?"

"Mom? Please don't call my baby 'Grandmonster.'"

"Anna, please don't get pregnant."

Her daughter glared, and Lucy feigned confusion. "Oh, I thought we were saying things for the other person to ignore."

Lucy was upstairs getting dressed when Anna finally made her way downstairs where all of the Dreyars had gathered for breakfast.

Her father put a plate stacked with six pancakes, six slices of bacon, and hashbrowns, and she stared down at it, and then frowned at him.

Anna stared at the enormous pile of food and mumbled in monotone. "Okay. I don't want to keep saying this. Family: I'm pregnant. Father: Why do you think I need this much food?"

Mavis already knew, because she was the twin and had certain rights in life. She was also a good confidant because she didn't freak out about anything, ever—except Orga. She loved that rascal and had grown to a point where she didn't mind admitting it. Only in private, of course.

Her other siblings stared in shock; Yuri's food fell off his fork, Layla gasped in disbelief, and Lex looked around trying to figure out what the hell a seven-year-old says to that.

Laxus was unfazed. "You're eating for two."

Anna answered, "Yes, but one of us is the size of a goldfish."

Lex asked, "You have a goldfish and a baby?"

Yuri put his head on his brother's head. "Shhhh…this is one of those times it's good not to say anything."

Lex ate his breakfast and ran out the door as soon as possible, headed to Gildarts house to have a nice day doing nothing with Crash Groh, his grandson. Lex's goal every day of the week was to either avoid or stalk Jane Dragneel, Iggy's little sister. Jane had some mix of Mirajane's takeover demon magic and her father's actual demon blood. So when he got on her nerves, she would transform into a fire-breathing demon and beat him with her tail.

Lex had a crush on Jane the nice girl and was deathly terrified of Jane the demon.

(The parents found this 'cute.')

Anna ate her pancakes and ignored any and all questions about her baby because she actually had no idea what she was going to do about it. She just wanted to eat, go to the doctor, and try to figure her life out.

Layla sighed deeply halfway through the meal. "Anna, I think you may be a better woman than me. First to have a boyfriend. First to get kissed. First to have sex. Now you're having a baby and I haven't even lost my virginity yet. Life is so cruel," she sadly mused.

Mavis said, "Ask Petri, he'll give you a baby."

Their father cringed. "Mavis, no."

Layla gave her a dirty look. "I've spent a lot of time wishing him off the face of the earth, but he's still here. What am I doing wrong?"

Mavis answered, "Maybe you need to think a little harder."

After breakfast, Lucy took Anna to the doctor where they learned she was two months pregnant, and then to the pharmacy to get vitamins, and then to the bookstore. Most of parenting was instinct, but Lucy knew she and Laxus went to classes and read books because they really didn't know what to expect. Anna had the benefit of having been around Lex from when he was three weeks old, but it was still very different becoming a mother versus being a big sister.

She felt like it was important to spend some time with Anna away from the family, because her daughter wasn't a near-sighted young fool; Anna seemed to be acutely aware of how difficult she'd made things for herself.

When they were at the bookstore, she reached for a book and then said, "I think I'm more disappointed in myself than you and Dad are with me. I was amazed at how well Dad took it. I just assumed he'd be angry."

Lucy gave her a gentle smile. "Your dad is a pretty awesome guy. There's really no reason to beat yourself up about it. Maybe it's not what you planned, but unexpected things can be wonderful. I mean, it's hard, but thinking about how hard it is isn't going to make it easier."

Anna flipped through the pages and showed her mother a drawing of a birth. "Is this an exaggeration?"

"Not really. You know what the weird thing is about having a baby? He or she is going to feel freakin' enormous when you're pushing, and then when it's over, the baby will seem so tiny. Like 'why didn't you feel this small when you were in my vagina?'"

Anna paled and put the book back. "Scary."

"It's not that bad. If it was, you wouldn't be here," she said.

Her daughter let out another long, sad sigh. "I feel like my career is over. I'm pregnant. My body is going to turn to mush, I'll get fat, I won't be able to go on jobs for what…nine months while I'm pregnant, and then a few months after that? I'll fall behind."

"Behind who? Trust me, life's not a competition. I became S-Class after I gave birth to _four_ kids in less than five years. Maybe I wasn't going on jobs as much as anyone else, but believe it or not, anything you go through in life will make you stronger if you let it. So let it. Do your best, and things will work out. They did for me," Lucy answered.

The more they talked about it, mother to mother-to-be, the more Anna seemed to relax and stop thinking of her pregnancy as the end of life as she knew it.

At the guild, Laxus was sitting at his desk, staring blankly at the wall when Iggy came in from a job he'd gone on solo. He came in with the reward and guild fees, and a damage form that took up a decent part of his reward.

Laxus wanted to beat him absolutely senseless, but he'd never been able to dislike Iggy.

Even then, he just seemed like a nice kid trying to find his way in the world. He worked hard, he got along well, and unlike some of the other guys, he hadn't taken to boozing and acting wild.

He had enough sense not to tell Iggy, but he did want to pick at Iggy's brain a little before his life was changed forever.

"You're twenty now?"

He nodded. "Yes, Master."

"What are your plans? In terms of your life?"

Iggy shrugged. "Keep doing what I'm doing."

"And Anna?"

"She's the best."

"You ever think about dating other people?"

Iggy shook his head. "Not ever. Why would I? What would somebody else ever be to me? We've gone on a lot of jobs, had a lot of adventures. She's my partner."

Laxus asked, "What about the future? I kind of assume you don't plan on dating when you're thirty or forty, or both of you living with your parents."

"I kind of assume we'd get married eventually. You know, have our own place. Our own lives."

"…your own family?"

"Yeah, that too."

The purpose of this conversation was to make Iggy discuss and think about the life he wanted to have someday before he was told part of that future was going to be coming early and seemingly out of order. Parenting and running a guild left him with an acute awareness of how important it was to make young people think and talk about things in a way that gave way to a little perspective.

And then, mostly to see if Iggy would actually lie to him, he asked, "You're not sleeping with my daughter, are you?"

"Of course not."

Laxus found this lie slightly amusing, but decided the universe had already avenged him.

"Swing by my house. I think my daughter needs to talk to you about something," he casually answered as he put the money and the forms in their designated places.

Iggy did as he was told, and stopped by the Dreyar after he went home to shower and change.

Anna had been home for an hour which she'd spent glued to her mother in the kitchen for any hint of wisdom. She'd always admired her mother, but in her predicament, her mother's attitude and wisdom were a lifeline.

When Iggy came in, she didn't know her father had sent him. It was normal for him to come by after a job.

She thought about not telling him yet, or sending him away, but Lucy squeezed her hand behind the counter and whispered, "You can do this. It'll be all right."

Anna nodded, took him by the hand, and dragged him up the stairs without a word. They went into her room, and she shut the door.

"Is something wrong?" he asked as he sat on the edge of her bed.

The blonde nodded. "Iggy, I'm going to have your baby."

His big green eyes were absolutely blank, then shocked, then terrified.

"A-Are you sure?" he stammered.

"I went to a doctor today. I'm eight weeks along," she said as she sat next to him. "One time…what bad luck."

Iggy _had_ been thinking about the future in which they were married with a family because his guildmaster had asked him about it. Then he realized why and wondered how he managed to survive that conversation at all.

He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Upset. Healthy. Worried. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't want to be an unmarried teenage mom."

Iggy said, "I'm sorry. It wouldn't have happened if I'd just been more careful. I'm not sure how to make this right or okay or anything. A baby is a big deal. Nothing this big has ever happened to me."

"You're going to be a dad, Iggy."

"You're going to be a mom, Anna. This doesn't even feel real."

In Iggy's mind, a 'dad' was a specific type of creature, and that was what he needed to turn into for their little baby. Well, for their little baby and the little baby's mother. When he thought about all the things his own dad was to him and to their family, he felt like they were really far from being parents.

There was a sense of stupefied wonder he suspected might never leave when he tried to digest the idea that his adorable girlfriend was carrying his baby inside of her.

They talked for a long time, and it felt so strange, almost like it wasn't really happening.

Iggy wasn't used to seeing Anna in such a vulnerable state, so he tried to help piece together a plan. "We need to be living together. You'll need me around later on and when the baby is born."

Anna said, "We could live with my parents or yours."

Iggy didn't like the idea at all. "Look, I'm a dragon. A dragon wants his own space for his own family. That's not really a personality thing. It's my nature and how I'm wired. I'm not going to live with my girl with one of our parents. I'm an S-Class wizard. I have a lot of money in savings and I can work for more. We could get our own apartment or maybe a little house."

As soon as he said that, things suddenly seemed exciting to both of them.

"Get our own place? You, me, and the baby?!"

"Yeah. We can start our lives together. It's sooner than we expected, but it's what we both want, right?" he asked.

Anna snuggled up closer. "Okay. Let's be a family."

The unfathomable fear and depression of having an unplanned pregnancy was eclipsed by the powerful revelation that the circumstance might be a catalyst to begin living their lives together as husband and wife, a goal they'd both given 'eventually,' but were willing to pull into the present to accommodate their sudden change of plans.

They came down a full three hours later, and found Laxus and Lucy in the kitchen. She was working on the guild accounting, and he was hounding her for answers to his crossword puzzle.

They held hands tightly, and Lucy asked, "You guys okay?"

"We're going to elope," Anna said.

Laxus glared at Iggy, eye twitching. "What?!"

Anna replied, "We're having a baby, so we're going to be a family anyway. We don't want to spend a lot on a wedding and we just want to start working on getting our lives ready."

The parents found this second shock was actually somewhat of a relief because it meant they had a plan to stay committed to each other and their little family.

There was a part of both Laxus and Lucy that wanted to raise vociferous objections to the idea of them getting married so young, but they were pregnant, and that meant the rules were different.

Lucy spoke first, finding herself in the same uncomfortable place. She didn't want Anna to get married just because she was pregnant, but also understood why a marriage might help them. Since it was their baby and their predicament, she decided she had to let them decide for themselves as grownups.

"But," she finally said, "I can't have you elope. Let us put together a little wedding for you. It's tradition for the bride's father to pay for that. Besides, I want to see you in a gorgeous dress and watch your dad walk you down the aisle."

"Okay, Mom."

Anna gave her a big hug, squeezing her impossibly tight, and then she looked up at her dad, who seemed a little paralyzed.

Laxus didn't want her getting married or having a baby. But one of those things was true and he couldn't change it. In his heart, he knew Iggy and Anna would take good care of each other and their son or daughter, so he didn't have a legitimate reason to object. His daughter just wanted him to approve of the choice she'd made, and he didn't believe there were any better options.

"Is that okay?"

He nodded. "You'll still be my little girl even if you marry this asshole. If he gives you a hard time, you know I'll kick his ass. We love you, kid."

Anna hugged her dad. "We're going to head over to his house to ruin his parents' night."

Lucy said, "Have fun."

When the left, Laxus grumbled, "I hate this."

His wife hugged him from behind. "I think they're going to be fine. They'll figure out how to be happy together just like we did. Besides, I have a wedding plan and a lot of ulterior motives."

"Scheming already?"

Lucy feigned innocence. "Of course not, Gams."

"I'm not a grandfather until she pops that kid out, and I did notice you change the subject. What on earth are you scheming about these days?" he asked.

Lucy said, "Levy and I have a working theory that the reason that Layla breaks up with all her boyfriends after six weeks and says they're not right is because none of them are Sam Redfox. So if we can just get them in the same place, at the same time…who knows?"

"So, you and Levy have been drinking tea, reading books, and trying to figure out how to make your kids get together."

"Is that wrong?"

"Let me remind you that Iggy is also the son of your friend."

Lucy squeezed him again. "Is it weird I hope the grandmonster looks like Natsu?"

"Extremely weird and moderately disturbing. Dreyar babies all look like me."

"This is a Dragneel baby."

Laxus scowled at her. "What's a seven-letter word for how I feel right now?"

"Annoyed!"

 ** _Please Review!_**

 ** _AN: OMG guys, we made it to sixty chapters together!_**

 _Special thanks to saskiarosee, JLC107, lucyheartfilialover360, b2utifulshawol, twiztidprincess, chipthemunkey, lunastarlady, 17, ksta, stavroula99, katiekat2001, sassykitten1701, shka, tiernank, jenheartai, arouraleona, xxshyxx, light heartfilia, and screeney for reviewing!_


	61. The Little Girl

Sometimes, Yuri just felt hollow, and strange, like he was missing something.

Being wild was fairly normal for a young male wizard, and as far as the world of magic was concerned, he was on top. In his prime, he'd made S-Class early on, he made good money, he was popular, but the reckless nights of partying were starting to blur together.

Watching Anna and Iggy cling reminded him of how things had been for him back when he was a teenager.

Sometimes, he wanted to find Lilia and find out what she was up to, but she'd cut her ties to Magnolia and left the wonderful world of magic. They hadn't crossed paths and he honestly had no idea where she was or what she was doing.

There were moments where he felt desperately miserable and inexplicably alone, even with a pretty girl in bed next to him. Yet, he didn't want to get close, because he didn't want to hurt another girl or to get hurt.

An unplanned pregnancy might have been a disaster for Anna, but in some ways, Yuri was envious of his sister, because she was with someone she'd loved for a long time.

Layla was a little jealous her sister found true love while she continued to wander through boys trying to find one that felt right. She wanted desperately to fall helplessly in love, but she felt like trying to date was like trying to mash puzzle pieces together that weren't meant to fit.

Mavis wished she could be as honest about her feelings as her twin.

Yet none of them envied the stress or the obvious struggle.

The parents watched the dynamics play out and did their best to support their family while it was in a state of change.

Three weeks after the news of the pregnancy broke and three weeks until the scheduled wedding, Iggy came into his guildmaster's office with dues, fees, and no damage form, which suggested he'd been very careful. They'd barely seen him since he found out Anna was pregnant, and nobody was happy about that. He'd taken a series of dangerous jobs and had progressively picked up a laundry list of injuries that had become too severe for his guildmaster to ignore.

He literally had cuts and bruises _everywhere_. He looked exhausted and nervous.

…and he had another job flier.

Laxus looked up at him and said, "Are you going on jobs non-stop because you don't want to be around Anna?"

"No, it's not like that."

"Then what's the problem?"

Iggy said, "Look, between the two of us, we have seven million jewel in savings. I've earned another two this past month."

"That's a very respectable number."

"You know the house right across the street from yours is for sale, right? Anna's always thought it's a cute little house, so we started talking about moving out and suddenly they stick this stupid for sale sign in the yard. She's in love with it, and has all these ideas about raising a baby right across the street from you. It's a nice place. It's close to the school, my parents, the guild…it has big trees and flowers and she just loves it," he said.

Laxus leaned back in his chair. "How much is it on the market for?"

"Seventeen million. I can make that money, but I don't have it right now. I went to the bank. Apparently wizards don't get mortgages like regular people because we have a life expectancy problem."

He nodded. "There's a reason most wizards are slumming it. It's very hard to get ahead for someone who never makes S-Class, and you haven't even been at that level for a year."

Iggy dug through his bag for a notebook and handed it to him. "We already have doctor's bills coming in. Did you know it can take two million jewel just in bills to have a baby?"

"Having a baby can be _very_ expensive, especially if anything isn't normal. Lucy racked up almost twice that in bills when we had the twins."

"Well, we definitely don't want to spend so much money we might not be able to afford doctor's bills. Then, we have to find a place, and buy everything that goes in that place like furniture and groceries. Taxes are almost due too, and only one of us can go on jobs right now," he said.

Laxus was nearly miserably with sympathy over the poor kid breaking his back and any other part of his body necessary to try and do well for his fiancé and their unborn child. He also knew Anna always thought the house across the street was adorable, so that means Iggy must have known, and Iggy didn't would rather kill himself on jobs trying than tell her they couldn't afford to live there.

The guildmaster said, "You're in bad shape, kid. Go home and sleep. Go see Anna. She needs you around. I'm not going to approve you taking jobs until after the wedding. I'm not going to let you work until you die like this."

Iggy looked like he was about to flip out or cry or maybe both, which was very out of character because he was normally very calm and optimistic like his mother.

"Iggy, getting married is a really big change. It's not like moving in with somebody of whatever. You and Anna have to work hard to be honest with each other about everything, including your money. You have enough to take care of stuff that's important. It's not chivalrous or brave for you to keep all your stress to yourself. She's not the kind of girl who gets bent out of shape when she can't have what she wants. If you just tell her you can't afford the house, she'll be just fine. She'd rather be an apartment-dweller than a widow, trust me," he said.

Iggy slumped down. "But she's the kind of girl who doesn't really ask for much, so for her to really want something and me not be able to give it to her just feels awful, like I can't take care of her."

"You can ask for help."

"I'm trying really hard to be a man here, you know."

His obstinacy was both admirable and foolish, but every guy knew how it felt to need help and not want to ask for it. Iggy wanted to be a real man and take care of his family, and Laxus honestly wasn't sure if it was a good idea to step on that.

He sent Iggy on and went back to his work.

At the Dreyar house, Yuri and Anna were alone in the house with Lex. Babies and family were at the forefront of Anna's mind, so hanging out with her brother reminded him that he hadn't really been so successful in his personal life.

Sure his career had taken off, and it was definitely fun partying and sleeping around, but it wasn't substantive or satisfying.

He started to think about Lilia. About her scent, and her smile, and the way they'd talk about things that really mattered. She was really the only person outside of his immediate family he'd ever confided in, and back when he was young, he used to tell her everything and that made him happy.

She was still heavy on his mind when his mother got home from making some wedding arrangements.

After she finished talking to Anna, Yuri found her in the living room scribbling something about centerpieces in a notebook.

"Mom, can I ask you a question?"

"Always. What's on your mind, Thunder Baby?"

He sat down next to her. "Do you know where Lilia is?"

"Of course. She writes to me sometimes."

"How's she doing?"

Yuri had never asked, not one time. When they broke up, Lilia pulled back from the world of magic and her ties to Magnolia and he hadn't ever reached out for her. She knew they didn't hate each other, but after so many years of being so attached, it seemed like severing their contact with one another so completely had been the only way for them to really part ways.

Lucy asked, "What's wrong, Yuri?"

"I wonder what I maybe missed out on. Life's fun, but it's not all great. I miss having someone to talk to," he said.

"I'm sure some of your little flings are really nice girls, Yuri. And most of them would probably listen to you if you felt like you had something to say. You could try dating for real. Meet somebody. Go out on a date, get to know her before you get her in bed. You're a really sweet and sentimental person—I don't think the way you do things is very befitting of you, but of course no mother wants her son growing up to be a big manwhore. As your mother, I don't like that one bit," she said.

Yuri knew neither of his parents approved of how he'd run his romantic life for the past couple of years. His father told him he was being stupid all the time, and told him it would catch up with him if he didn't calm down eventually.

"I know things are hard for Anna, but she's going to be happy," he said.

Lucy considered her son's apparent distress and hugged on his arm because he was honestly too big for her to just grab and squeeze whenever she liked. "Son, you're okay."

"So…where is Lilia?"

His mother said, "Engaged. She's getting married in a couple of months."

"What?! To who?!"

"Yuri, it's been _six years_. You can't get bent out of shape about that. You broke up, you've been living separate lives. She has a whole career you don't even know about. She's not the person you knew, and you're not the person she knew, so leave her alone, Yuri. She's happy."

"Where?"

Lucy knew her son had a mind to be foolish and rash, so she held onto him. "Yuri, I don't think you made a mistake when you broke up with her, but think about this for a minute. You left her. That hurt her. A lot. It was better for her in the long run, but she still suffered. You just went on and everyone knows how you've been. She was alone, and you were sleeping around. She found her own way in the world and she found someone she loves. You can't just crash back into her life because you're not happy."

The idea that he wasn't happy was news to him.

Was he unsatisfied?

Yuri wasn't sure, but he felt a little sick to his stomach when she thought of her being happy with some other man.

Once Lucy felt like she'd talked some degree of common sense into her son, she went back to wedding planning.

Yuri was going through a moment of his own and in this moment, he decided the thing to do was to look through his mom's drawer of letters and find her address, then…he wasn't sure what would happen. He wasn't sure if he wasn't happy. In fact, he really didn't know anything except he'd somehow gotten it wrong in life.

She had an address in Clover, so he jumped on the first train out and after the expected period of nausea, bounded off the train platform.

The address belonged to a neat little row house near the part of Clover that had to be rebuilt the last time Natsu had a job there, and as he went up the steps, he really had no idea what he was going to say or even what he was doing there.

"Who is it?" a male voice called.

Yuri cringed, but he didn't say anything.

The door opened and a man stuck his head out, peering about until he recognized his visitor. "Hello, can I…Yuri Dreyar."

"Right. And you are?"

"Calvin Moore, Lilia's _fiancé_ ," he answered, putting a great of emphasis on the last word.

Yuri looked strong in Sorcerer's Weekly, but that really didn't do him justice. He was two inches taller than his father, and the tallest wizard in Fairy Tail. He had huge muscles everywhere, and he was handsome—a heartthrob and heartbreaker.

Calvin was almost a full foot shorter, and wasn't particularly strong-looking.

They shook hands, and Yuri noted his hands were very soft, like he'd expect from someone who hadn't ever done anything serious with them.

Calvin was short, in his mid-thirties with glasses and the kind of body that said he probably had a job that involved sitting at a desk most of the time. He seemed skittish even when he opened the door, like he was scared of strangers.

They stood there, staring at each other.

For a loooooooong time.

Yuri asked, "I was wondering if I could talk to Lilia."

"She's not here. I could pass a message along."

There was a part of Yuri that just felt compelled beyond his self-control to _be a complete and total dick_. "So tell me where she is then."

"She's at work."

"And where is that?"

"You can't disturb her while she's at work!"

Yuri shrugged. "I'll just follow her scent. Thanks for nothing."

When he turned to leave, Calvin came out and tried to talk him out of it. "Look, you can't just go bother her when she's teaching. You could get her in trouble with the principal. She won't appreciate it."

"Don't worry. It'll be fine!"

When he got to the bottom of the steps, he added, "And I must say that as Lilia's fiancé, I do not appreciate your visit, nor your attitude. She's moved past the careless phase of her life, and she has no need for your interference!"

Yuri waved. "Catch you later!"

He was grievously agitated by seeing the person Lilia had chosen to marry and followed her scent as he considered what exactly he was doing. Was he curious? Did he want her back? He felt very unsettled and very unsure of himself.

While he was thinking about his life, he suddenly heard a chorus of itty bitty screams as he stepped into the schoolyard and immediately had the attention of thirty or so kindergarteners who were shouting his name and grabbing onto him, asking questions and yelling and otherwise expressing their immeasurable glee that the one and only Yuri Dreyar had somehow come to their school.

It distracted him from himself, and from his bizarre stupor. He liked kids; they liked him. Being surrounded by a mob of enthusiastic kids put a big dent in his stress level, and he found himself catering to their little whims, flexing his muscles with kids hanging off his arms and showing them a little lightning.

"Kids, time to get back to class."

Yuri's heart skipped a few beats when he finally saw Lilia and heard her voice.

Lilia sent her kids off with one of the other teachers and crossed her arms. "Well, look who it is. Passing by?"

"I ummm…came looking for you," he admitted.

Her hair was in a bun, probably a necessity working around little kids, and she looked more beautiful than he remembered. Her face was soft and warm, and her eyes were so bright and lively.

She smiled at him and sat down in the nearby swing, and he sat in the swing beside her.

They didn't say anything.

Lilia asked, "How have you been?"

"Fine, I guess. Working mostly. You know what? Anna's pregnant. She and Iggy are about to get married, and I've just been thinking about a lot of things. Well, not a lot of things. Mostly just you."

Her smile seemed a little sad, but she was smiling. "I bet Anna and Iggy will be really good parents. That's pretty exciting, really. You know, I'm about to get married. My fiancé is a nice guy."

"I met him."

"Oh, geeze. Were you a jerk?"

Yuri shrugged. "Of course not. I was afraid I breathed on him too hard, he'd drop dead from fright."

She laughed. "That's probably true. Look, Yuri. I don't like getting hit in the face, and I don't like hitting other people in the face. Magic was not for me. We're normal people. We have normal lives and normal jobs and we do what normal people do. We're happy."

Yuri said, "I don't want you to get married. At least not to him. How about me? I'm a nice guy."

"Yuri, you are one of the nicest and most wonderful people I've ever known and I know you're a great person, but uhhh…you know I've read about you, right? You went on to become a big slut, and I went to university and became a kindergarten teacher. We do not live in the same world," she said.

"You can come live in my world. It's not bad," he offered.

"Yuri, no."

Yuri felt a stinging, sinking feeling in his gut and realized he'd spend most of his day on this fool's errand. In his heart, he knew she hadn't really been a big fan of fighting all along, and she seemed really happy where she was.

"You love him?"

"Of course."

"Are you sure?"

"He's a great guy."

Yuri said, "That's not the same thing. I was passionate about you."

"Yes, and then you were passionate with ten percent of the adult female population."

It was like suddenly, life caught up with Yuri. His career was perfect, and nothing could have been better. Personally, he was a mess, and somehow he hadn't realized it because young male wizards were just expected to act a certain kind of way.

Lilia always told herself she'd have no sympathy for him because he was living it up, but when he looked up at her with those big, sad blue eyes, she couldn't help but remember that he was also her best friend growing up.

Lilia sighed and said, "I never really thanked you for what you did. It was the right thing for me. It makes me sad to think you haven't found happiness. It seems like it should be easy. Any girl would love to be with you. You're wonderful. Kind, sweet, considerate. You should try to fall in love with somebody."

"I did, and I'm not sure if I ever fell out. Seeing you just does something to me, but you're somebody else's girl now. In my head, I'm thinking about all the rotten things I could try to steal you back, but I know that's not right. I want you to be happy."

She stood and said, "I need to get back to my work, and I'm sure you have things you should be doing now too. Goodbye, Yuri."

Yuri knew he'd made dreadful mistakes and that they couldn't be undone. Maybe somewhere in his mind, he'd thought they'd eventually end up together, and they stayed alive in his mind. When he realized he either had to learn how to love someone else or be alone, he felt devastated.

He just sat there on the swings, and played back all his happy memories growing up with her.

Her mind seemed to be more than made up about who she wanted to spend her life with, and that person was somebody else.

Nothing he'd been doing felt wrong until then. His parents had always been clear about drawing lines between things that were immoral and things that were just really foolish. They gave him latitude to be a fool if he wanted to be, but they always reminded him that's what he was with women.

And, when Yuri thought about it, he didn't blame her.

She was beautiful and wonderful, so was it really a surprise that once she found her own way, she also found someone else to be happy with?

He took the train home, and then the next morning decided he'd try to spend some time with Anna. Ultimately, they ended up commiserating about how their own choices led to them no being able to achieve what they wanted in life over a pie Layla had baked. They had two forks in a pie pan and the sobering reality that despite making mostly all right decisions, they'd made a few bad ones that had derailed their lives.

Layla came in, grabbed a fork from the drawer, and sat at the table. "Life sucks."

"Mhmm," Anna and Yuri answered.

"I broke up with my boyfriend. Now I don't have a date for the wedding. I'm going to die alone, and probably fat, in a house full of hoarder's loot and fifty cats," she said, taking a bite.

Their mother joined them after a couple of minutes, asked Anna a few questions about the wedding, and then tapped her fingers on the table. "So, Yuri, I know you stole Lilia's address from me. How did that go for you?" she crossly asked.

Her son gave her a bland smile. "Well, Mom, she tore my heart out and stomped on it. So not exactly like I expected."

"You two need to calm down. Being twenty-two and single is not the worst thing. Or twenty," she said, glancing at Layla.

Layla answered, "Mom, when you were my age, you were married and pregnant already."

When she uttered the phrase 'married and pregnant,' Anna buried her head in her hands and groaned.

Lucy sighed. "You guys are a real bunch of downers. Anna, your fiancé will be by later and you can be gleefully happy again, Yuri, there are millions of women in this country who adore you, and Layla, you can stop dumping your boyfriends whenever you please."

Mavis ran in, and practically slammed the door behind her, only to be chased in by Baby Orga who wasn't much of a 'baby' anymore at twenty. He was shirtless in jeans as always, and she had a Fairy Tail t-shirt on and jeans as she sprinted through the kitchen, nearly slipping on a chunk of pie dropped on the floor by one of her miserable siblings.

Orga followed, she squealed.

Layla looked up at her sister, who was apparently very happy as she had a boyfriend but did not have a baby. "Mavis?"

"What?"

"Get out."

Lucy stood and hugged on her youngest daughter. "You might as well. These guys are like a little hive of desperation and depression. But at least there's pie, right?"

Mavis grabbed the last bite of pie from the pan with her bare fingers, popped it in her mouth and then, with her mouth still full, mumbled, "Not anymore!"

She raced up the stairs and Orga followed, and they heard the door slam.

Anna stared at the empty pie plate. "If you ever needed proof she was the evil twin…"

Lex came down and asked, "Can I go play with Crash?"

Lucy asked, "Did you finish memorizing your multiplication tables."

"Of course, Mom!"

"What's six times eight?"

"Thirty-six, of course."

Their mother stood and said, "That is…very wrong. At least you have a problem I can help with. Let's go practice for a while."

Lex innocently looked at his older brother and sisters. "You guys got problems? Are they worse than multiplication?"

Layla huffed, "They're five times six times harder."

"So…twenty three times harder?"

Anna said, "I think you've studied that about nine times zero hours."

"Nine hours is a lot. Hey…are you guys being mean to me?" Lex asked.

Lucy put an arm around him. "Don't worry. They're just having a little moment. All of them. Together. C'mon, big guy, and geeze, that hair. Is there no dragon boy with hair that doesn't want to stick straight up?"

She felt sympathy for their various trials and tribulations in life, but there were different stages in life and the more stages they went through, the less she and her husband were able to help. As newborns, they could supply every need, but with every day that ticked by as they grew up, they become more and more responsible for themselves.

Truthfully, Lucy wasn't disappointed in any of her children, and knew they'd all find their own path to happiness. They had grown up to be wonderful people, but transitions were always painful and Yuri and Layla had graduated from the phase of life where they were trying to find themseves and awkwardly found themselves searching for companionship in all the wrong places.

Iggy came by to take Anna to a doctor's appointment, and they walked hand-in-hand. Sometimes, they felt overwhelmed by what they were going through, and other times, they were happy. Unplanned pregnancies were a very mixed and intense experience.

He told her the night before they would have to move into an apartment, and she was disappointed, but okay. With the way things happened, some things just had to happen in a different order. She was confident that they'd be quite all right as long as they had each other.

Anna snuggled his arm and asked, "Can I sleepover with you tonight?"

"Sure, if you want, and you don't mind my mom dragging you to the baby store in the morning. Our baby has more outfits than I do," he said.

She giggled at him. "I don't just want to sleep, you know. We could do it."

Iggy felt his cheeks burn as he looked away. "You mean…it?"

"Yes, _it_. You know, make love," she sweetly answered.

"You want to?"

Anna nodded. "Maybe it'll last a little longer this time."

"Sorry about that. And uhh…for getting you pregnant."

His wife to be giggled, "Who knew it only took sixty seconds to make a baby?"

He cringed. "Ugh, I'm _so_ sorry. It just felt so good I couldn't stop it."

Anna didn't really mind and thought it was kind of funny, but she could tell he was very embarrassed about it. "Don't worry, Orga had that problem too. Mavis bites him if he finishes before her."

"Is there anything twins don't talk about? And that's extremely barbaric of Mavis, yet very much what you'd expect."

She lifted his hand to her mouth and gave him a nibble. "I could bite you."

"Cute, but maybe I'll bite you back."

"My mom had a few glasses of wine a while back and told me all dragons were biters in bed so I just need to prepare myself for a lifetime of being a big chew toy," she answered.

They got to the doctor's office, and Iggy tried to help her with forms but really just mildly annoyed her. Then he followed her into the exam room and heard a lot of words he didn't know followed by an exam that he found gross.

The doctor continued to utter very large words, some of which were a little scary. The man assured them everything seemed quite all right, with one little detail slightly out of the ordinary.

"I can clearly detect two separate heartbeats."

Anna's expression dropped and she sat up on her elbows. "Are you kidding me?!"

"The baby has two hearts?" Iggy asked, somewhat numb to the actual news.

The doctor ignored this comment. "Do twins run in your family? Fraternal twins can run in families because dropping more than one egg during ovulation can be passed down."

Anna's brow was twitching wildly, like her mother's, and she wondered—was this how it started for her?

"I have a twin. Are you sure? Can you listen again or whatever you have to do, because this can't happen," she grumbled.

Iggy was absolutely stupefied. "Wait, wait, wait. There's more than one baby?"

And his mind raced, because that meant his little budget was even less sufficient than it was before. He wondered what would happen if he couldn't take care of his little family, or if something went wrong, or if there complications, or if Anna would just be miserable, suddenly married and then a mother to two kids they hadn't ever intended on having.

Anna looked over at him to see how he felt about it, and it was really clear he wasn't happy about it, and went on her own little mental meandering concerning how terribly she was sabotaging his life with her uterus. Before all this started, he was just a young and powerful wizard on his way to the top. Now, he'd lost focus on being the strongest wizard and had her and two babies to worry about.

The walk home was quiet, and a little introspective.

Iggy had his hands in his pockets, and she walked a little further away from him.

And then she just burst into tears in the middle of the sidewalk.

"H-Hey, what are you doing? You can't cry. I'm supposed to take care of you and make you happy. I guess I'm already not good at that," he said, hugging her.

Anna sniffed. "You're doing a really good job, actually. I'm sorry this happened. I'm supposed to make you happy too, and you look pretty miserable."

"Only because you're not happy," he answered.

"So you're not happy cause I'm not happy. And I'm not happy because you're not happy…"

And then they laughed at themselves, because that was completely ridiculous. Then they held hands, and then she hugged on his arm, and then he put his arm around her.

Anna said, "But think of it this way. Two babies in one minute. That's like thirty seconds a kid."

Iggy sighed. "Please don't tell anyone about that."

"Your secret is safe with me. And you know, my mom. My sisters. And my dad."

Iggy couldn't imagine the context in which she told her father she'd become pregnant during an act of premature ejaculation, but he knew Master Laxus well enough to know he probably appreciated knowing that information about as much as Iggy did knowing that he knew. Mutual horror and disgust was a wonderful tool for silence.

"Oh…and your mom."

"Ugh, Anna! Baby, you're killing me."

"You got me pregnant so I'm allowed. Extra pregnant, because you just have to be an overachiever," she answered before yanking him down by the arm and kissing his cheek. "We're going to be just fine."

They headed to a restaurant where they were supposed to meet with their parents to hammer out some last minute wedding details, and just as they were nearing the front door, Iggy asked, "Can we still do it? You made me kind of want it really bad."

And of course, at that moment, Laxus and Lucy came around the corner.

Laxus glared, and Lucy elbowed him. "She's already pregnant, why do you care?"

He sulked. "It just makes me feel gross, but I'll probably feel better in about a minute. That's how long everything takes now."

Lucy elbowed him again, this time harder. "Stop being terrible. Is that too much to ask?"

Anna hugged her mom, then her dad, and kissed him on the cheek.

They went inside, and sat at a round table in the corner of the restaurant.

Lucy was the organizer, but Lisanna was doing most of the footwork since Lucy had a lot more on her plate.

Natsu and Lisanna had taken the news about like Laxus and Lucy had at first, but both couples were warming up to the idea of the kids getting married and starting their lives together as they watched them grow and do their best to take care of each other.

At some point, Lisanna had gone baby crazy and there were no signs it was going to end anytime soon.

Their 'small ceremony' had become ridiculously huge very fast, and while the moms went over the guest list they'd sent invitations to, Iggy and Anna just stared.

Anna asked, "Mom, I don't know if you know this, but when your teenage daughter accidentally gets knocked up, it's normal for the ceremony to be kind of hush-hush."

"Oh, you hush-hush. You're going to get a lot of stuff and a lot of cash as gifts. These people will fill your place up with stuff you need. Every person I invite provides one less thing you have to buy on your own," Lucy explained.

Natsu was very obviously bored by all the wedding talk, and Laxus' interest was nearly non-existent. Since he was financially responsible for the wedding, he did occasionally incline his ear, but he trusted his wife not to do anything too crazy. He'd seen her estimate and was irritated that he had to pay an enormous sum of money so a man could take his daughter away from him.

Natsu made a paper triangle and thumped it over to Laxus, who returned it, then it flew across the table to Iggy.

Lucy interrupted a dialogue about flowers with, "Are you guys playing paperball?"

The evidence burned up and they all shook their heads insistently.

At Fairy Tail, women ruled the world, and that was that.

By the time the food was finally brought, the wedding agenda had been taken care of.

Lisanna asked, "How was the doctor's appointment?"

Anna and Iggy glanced at one another, and then Anna blurted out, "We're going to have twins."

Laxus choked on his beer, Lucy made a surprised squeaky noise, Natsu laughed, and Lisanna's baby fever reached a new high.

"Are you guys okay? That's a big deal. One baby is a big responsibility, but two is…the twin experience is quite something," Lucy gently said.

It was obvious the kids were very stressed out about the newest revelation, and the parents looked one to another and exchanged little nods, like they knew something Iggy and Anna did not.

Natsu took an envelope out of his pocket. "That makes me kind of glad we did this, right?"

The others nodded again.

Lucy pushed the envelope over to them. "We know things didn't go the way anybody planned. And we know you're both doing your best. We don't want to step on your determination or how responsible you're being, but we wanted to do our best too."

Iggy opened the envelope, and keys fell on the table, along with a piece of paper.

It was the property deed to the house across the street.

Lisanna said, "Laxus told us you guys really wanted it but it was a little out of your reach. We went in on it together. It's our gift to you guys. We want you guys to be able to happy, and start off on the right foot. I know this will take most of the pressure off of you two."

The only person who didn't say anything about it was Laxus, but Iggy knew this was all his doing.

Anna started crying and got up from the table and hugged everyone, then said, "I don't know why I can't stop crying today."

Lucy brushed her hair away from her face. "Crying uncontrollably is actually one of the untold joys of being pregnant, ranking somewhere between indigestion and acne."

Lisanna gave her a sagely nod.

Iggy expressed his thanks and felt so indescribably grateful and relieved. 'Where do we live' was actually a terrifying question when a man had a wedding coming up and two babies on the way. The house was taken care of, and that meant they could use the money they had for furniture and baby stuff and doctor's bills and still have a little wiggle room.

The crushing pressure was gone.

Anna was happy too, because it was a cute house, but the most important thing about it was that it was so close to her family. She really wasn't ready to leave them, so now that she was right across the street seemed like as far as she wanted to go.

Once dinner was over, everyone headed toward their respective homes, even Iggy and Anna who now had a home to go to. They got a bunch of pillows and blankets, made a pillow fort, and decided to sleep over in their new home.

Anna decided to run back to her parents' house to get a pregnancy book to share with Iggy and found her father sitting on a swing hanging from a maple tree in her new front yard.

"Daddy!"

"Hey kid."

She came and sat right next to him. "Daddy…"

He wrapped his arm around her and asked, "You're sleeping over here?"

She smiled excitedly. "It's my home, so yes. I don't even know how to thank you guys."

"I'm just your dad. I like to think as your dad I've been the most important man in your life. It was my job to make sure you were safe and happy, and I did my best. You've always been a really great kid, so it wasn't hard. You were my little girl, and I was your guy. Suddenly, some kid is taking my place and I hate it. So I figure the last thing I really get to do to make you happy," he said.

He heard a sniffled. "Oh God, are you crying again?"

"I can't help it, Daddy! I'll always be your little girl, I promise!" she sobbed into his chest.

Laxus chuckled a bit. "Don't cry, kid. You weren't going to be a little girl forever. When your babies are born, you'll down at them and realize that someday, they'll grow up to. Being a parent has been the most wonderful thing in my life. I'm so proud of how you're growing and getting ready to become a little mom, you know. You're so strong. Smart. Sweet. You're going to be a good wife to that idiot, and a great mom to those little rascals—feel free to walk across the street and drop them off when they get on your nerves."

"I love you, Daddy. Thank you for not killing my fiancé."

"I actually seriously considered it. I even wrote the pros and cons down on a piece of paper. Killing him would result in me having to help you with diapers and feedings at three in the morning, so he gets to live."

(He did, however, give this piece of paper to Iggy so the guy could know convenience was the only reason his head was still attached to the rest of his body.)

She stayed there for a while, weepy and snuggly with Daddy, and then kissed him on the cheek and went to go find the book she'd wanted.

When she ran across the street, Iggy came out looking for her and found a dragon sitting on his swing.

"Thanks."

Laxus said, "She'll be back in a minute, but you'll be done by then, right?"

Iggy's head hung down a little. "I really wish you didn't know about that."

"You ready to be a dad?"

"Not really."

"Nobody is. You'll figure it out. Goodnight."

Laxus was walking across the street when he passed Anna, who ran straight into Iggy's arms. There was excited chatter, and giggling, and he turned back to his own house.

XXX

At two-thirty in the morning that night, Yuri awoke to the sound of his window opening and sat up to see Lilia climbing through. He stared in complete disbelief, and jumped out of the bed and went over to embrace her.

"Oh, I'm so glad you don't have another girl in here!" she said.

"In our house? My mom would kill her, then me. Besides, my sisters are monsters and terrorize any girl that seems to like me," he answered.

She started stripping down on the way to the bed, as if they hadn't been apart for six years and there hadn't been other people.

"Lilia, I…"

"This time, let's stay together. The girl dragon should be with the boy dragon, not the accountant. Seeing you reminded me of who you are and who you are to me. I don't care about the other girls, because unlike them, I know who you are. And you are the kindest, most wonderful man in the world. I believe you're my soul mate, so let's try this one last time."

Yuri grabbed her and pulled her into a deep, hot kiss—the kind the accountant knew nothing of. She might have been living an ordinary life, but she was still a magical creature and that side of her craved him like nothing else in the world.

Wizards were extremely carnal creatures, and it made him a very passionate lover. And, as much as she hated to admit it, he'd had enough practice that the experience was like nothing she'd ever felt before.

They went at it, over and over, until it was already light outside again. In between rounds, he talked about everything in the world.

Lucy went up around noon to see if her oldest son felt like joining the world of the living, but when she opened the door, she found him sound asleep in the bed. She could see long, lilac hair, and Yuri was sleeping so peacefully.

She smiled, and went downstairs to Layla, who was packing up for a job.

Of her three children that had been miserable the day before, Yuri and Anna were happy, and that just left Layla.

She poured a cup of coffee and whispered, "Three down, one to go."

 ** _Please Review!_**

 ** _Special thanks to saskiarosee, chipthemunkey, guest, xxshyxx, rere97maui, JenHeartAI, 17, katiekat2001, shka, sassykitten1701, b2utifulshawol, guest, kennedydryar, tiernank, lunastarlady, screeney, guest, cloudsneverbeentouch, mistydragonslayer, helenezahl, twistidprincess, pandorababe, thealicehuntt, jessiluck, arouraleona, light heartfilia, and paname for reviewing!_**


	62. The Girl Gets Married

The night before the wedding, Anna's parents tucked her in.

She was excited to be getting married and they were trying to come to terms with the fact that their precious baby wasn't going to be there in her room anymore.

It was already empty; almost all of her stuff disappeared as soon as they had a place.

At fourteen weeks pregnant with twins, she had a very easily recognizable bump. This bump had presented the only real problem with the wedding; they didn't know she was having twins when they sent the dress off for alterations, and that morning they'd come to the alarming realization it was physically impossible to zip.

(But Lucy tried pretty damn hard, telling her it was okay to squish the babies because babies were pretty mushy anyway.)

She'd had a little bridal shower, and their house was coming together nicely.

But this was the last night she would be a Dreyar, the last night she'd sleep in the bedroom where she grew up, the last time they could tuck her in or watch her sleeping.

Lucy cried because she'd had a few glasses of wine at the bridal shower, Anna cried because she was so hormonal she didn't know what to do besides sob, and Laxus sat on the edge of the bed and wished secretly he could rewind and she'd be a tiny little girl again.

It got late, and they knew she needed to go to sleep.

Laxus leaned down, put a hand on her little tummy, and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight. See you in the morning."

Lucy followed suit. "Get some rest. I know you're exhausted. You've been busy with wedding prep and moving. I know you must be tired."

He left first, and as Lucy was about to turn out the lights and follow, Anna asked, "Mom, you and Dad have always been really happy. What's your secret?"

Lucy answered, "Lots of love. Lots of sex too. Other than that, I'm not sure what to say. You're already a patient person, and I think you'll grow together well with him. Discovering your husband is going to be a wonderful lifelong adventure. Some days will be a little hard, but you forget about them. When you have those babies, don't forget your husband and don't forget yourself. You'll always have your own thoughts, feelings, and dreams. Don't betray them for anyone, and hold onto them as you go through life. Now, get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be one of the biggest days of your life, and I want you to be well-rested and wide-awake."

She turned out the lights and shut the door, but as soon as she did, she felt tears roll down her cheeks.

It was hard for her too, and she didn't want any of her other children to leave her. It was nice, having them all together, and she knew this meant the end of everyone gathered around the breakfast table every morning.

When she got to the bedroom, her husband was sitting on the edge of the bed. His clothes were all over the floor, but she'd learned to just ignore his more annoying habits because they were less enjoyable for him if they didn't piss her off.

Lucy sat beside him and snuggled up close, and then saw the piece of paper he was holding in between his fingers.

It was the tear-off from his calendar she'd given him for Christmas many years before that read _'Dreyar twins due.'_

That was how she'd told him she was pregnant with Anna and Mavis.

"You still have that? That's strangely sentimental of you. Where on earth have you been keeping it? Tell me where your secret stash is!"

Laxus shrugged. "Nowhere."

This wasn't the first time she'd accused him of such a thing. Now and then, he'd randomly have in his possession old pictures or trinkets—one of Yuri's toy dinosaurs enjoyed a brief stay on his desk the year before, and once he'd found one of Mavis' fang-marked pacifiers in his pocket doing the laundry when she was in middle school. The clearest example of this was when she'd found Lex's baby blanket that she'd thrown in the trash in their closet.

Yuri, Mavis, and Lex were all similarly compelled to hoard certain items, especially anything that carried a scent. Mavis was never far from something that smelled like her sister, and Lex who she was closest to would sometimes steal her blankets. Yuri was considerably more secretive about this behavior like his father.

Lucy strongly suspected that somewhere on the earth, there was a super-secret place where her husband kept sentimental objects and things that made him happy. She'd never seen it, so it wasn't in any place she had access to. There were still little things about him that she was discovering, even after so many years, and those things just made her love him more.

"I love you, Honey, you're so weird."

He looked down at her and smirked a little. "Have I ever told you how great it's been with you?"

"Maybe, but it's always good to hear again," she teased, taking the piece of paper and gently placing it on the nightstand. "Then again, you could always show me, big boy."

Laxus all but purred and leaned back as she started to undress.

He adored her; her personality, her scent, her warmth, her soft skin, and everything else. They were growing old together, and he found it satisfying to watch how time slowly softened their faces, leaving little wrinkles here and there. His hair was silver, and hers probably would have had a few grays if she didn't dye it so religiously.

Maybe Lucy had no problem parting with her breasts, but she'd _never_ give up being a blonde.

He nibbled at one of her ears, and she giggled.

The sound was still pure bliss to him, no matter how many times he heard it.

After a surprisingly vigorous romp, Laxus was trying to sleep when he noticed it was getting a little frigid. Very frigid, actually. He turned on the light and looked down to find his wife fanning herself, like it was a hot summer day in the middle of their freezing bedroom. It was the blanket she was wrapped in that was freezing him half to death, and upon closer inspection, he realized it was a magic cold pack used to keep food chilled while traveling.

"Babe, are you okay?"

Lucy glared at him. "Do I look okay?"

"Are you sick?"

He reached out to see if she had a fever, but she did not.

"No, I'm forty-three years old, and I'm having a hot flash," she hissed at him.

Once, a couple of months before, Wakaba asked Mirajane for a beer with an attitude she didn't appreciate and she turned into a demon and beat everyone in the guild into the dirt, including (actually starting with) her husband.

A 'hot flash' was later blamed for this incident.

Laxus didn't ask any questions then, and he actually had no idea about anything. "You're not…you're not sick, right?" he worriedly asked.

Lucy laughed. "Geeze. It's perfectly normal."

"It's normal to go to sleep wrapped in a freezer pad."

"I haven't had a period in three months, so I'm pretty sure…"

This terrified Laxus, because he still didn't know what she was talking about and she thought he was right on the same page as her. There had been times that he'd entertained fears that using healing magic on his body might inadvertently reverse his vasectomy. For this reason, when he'd involved himself in a battle against a dark guild and nearly had his femoral artery slashed, he allowed it to heal on its own rather than make use of Wendy's magic.

He sat up. "You can't be pregnant. I'm forty-eight. I'd be seventy by the time the kid was Yuri's age. Whatever you have going on there…ugh….Lucy, Lucy…"

Lucy covered her mouth and then erupted into uncontrollable laughter that was so intense he saw her little feet kick. "Honey, I've start going through menopause. You know, my periods stop, my body changes again. Sort of like reverse puberty. Doesn't involve a baby."

"Oh, thank goodness."

"Do you want me to get a book so you can decide not to read it?"

"Yeah."

They laid there together talking, until the hot flash was over, at which point she snuggled her freezing cold naked body against him.

He asked, "Isn't menopause something that happens to older women?"

Lucy kissed him. "Yeah. Women with grown kids. Grandmothers. The kind that are married to old guys."

"When did we get old?" he dryly asked.

"Go to sleep, Honey. I love you, old man."

The next morning came a little too soon and the world was in an instant state of chaos. They were trying to eat breakfast, do hair, get dressed, Lucy was scrambling with last minute preparations with Lex as her trusty assistant, and once they made it to South Gate Park, the hysteria only increased.

Anna got sick to her stomach, and whether due to nerves or pregnancy or both.

Layla was the maid of honor, so she expected to walk in with Yuri, believing there was no one else Iggy would have as his best man. Somehow or another—and they'd both feign innocence—Lucy and Lisanna forgot to tell her that Sam was the best man since the two guys had stayed pretty close.

Layla did her sister's hair and makeup, then quickly dressed and was still hopping on one foot and trying to put on her shoes when it was almost time for the ceremony to start. A little strings group was playing, she had a mouthful of bobby pins, and as soon as she took a deep breath, her mother grabbed her and dragged her from behind a big tree.

Lucy gave her a little push. "Now walk down the aisle with Sam."

She tripped when her heel sank into the grass and dirt and ran went face-first into Sam's very hard and very big chest.

Had her loving mother just thrown her at Sam and told her to walk down the aisle with him?

Yes, yes she had.

"Very subtle, Mom!" she huffed.

Layla straightened herself out and looked up to find a very different person than she remembered.

Sam was tall, muscular, broad-shouldered. His big brown eyes were very warm and his black hair was styled a certain kind of way that made her swoon a little.

Most of the people closest to Sam had visited and stayed in contact, but he and Layla hadn't been in the same place or had any contact since the night he left Magnolia.

She was absolutely the most gorgeous thing in the world to him, but he'd been terrified of meeting her again. He didn't know how she would feel, or what she would do, but at the moment, the only thing Layla cared about was her mother being petty and her shoes.

And then standing there trying to fix her shoe, she said, "Mavis, get over here! You lost a hair pin."

Once that was taken care of, she looked up at him.

"Hi, Sam."

"Hello there," he answered, giving her a little smile.

Lucy brought her a bouquet and shoved them together again. "Get closer. Take his arm."

Sam couldn't help but melt a little because he could tell she wasn't angry at him. From her face, she even seemed happy to see him again. Plus, she looked so far beyond amazing in her little pink dress, all made up with her hair pinned up neatly. The thing that he enjoyed most was seeing her be her—angry at her heels, chasing Mavis with a bobby pin, fussing at her mom for meddling…she was like none other.

Layla reached up and took his arm, and found under the suit, he was a big hunk of muscle.

Of course, that shouldn't have surprised her. He wasn't just Sam Redfox anymore; he was High Captain Sam Redfox, the leader of the Queen's most elite knights. He'd grown up to be as famous as any of them were, and he was in the news constantly for doing heroic and wonderful things.

Lucy smooshed them together one last time when it was time for them to walk down the aisle, and Sam noticed his mother watching them with dreamy eyes and sighed.

Then he looked down at Layla, and decided everything in the world was quite all right.

Mavis and Orga followed, then Yuri and Lilia, and then a couple of school friends.

Laxus was waiting with Anna behind everyone, and he couldn't help but feel another crushing moment of undeniable pride. She was gorgeous, but she almost never wore makeup so the eyeliner and mascara made her really look like a woman, but not as much as her baby bump. With rosy little cheeks, she was literally a blushing bride.

Having attractive kids was a source of pride for any parent, but he was really most proud of how she was living her life. Getting pregnant at eighteen maybe wasn't the best thing, but everyone made mistakes. What made him proud was the way she was carrying herself—and her two little babies—to a better future with the person she cared about.

She gave him a long hug, and he expressed in precious few words the unfathomably complex and wonderful yet terrible way he felt. He was so proud of her and excited for her future yet there was a part of him that did not want to give her to Iggy, not even in ceremony.

Giving the bride away was symbolic in a way that pained him even as someone who didn't usually care about ritual. He walked her slowly, and handed her off.

Iggy's body suddenly became stiff and jerked visibly.

Laxus heard his wife's displeased gasp and could identify it from the chorus of shocked utterances. **YES** , he did zap Iggy, but he felt he was entitled to it and no one was going to kill him during the wedding.

Anna's face transformed in an instant, and he learned in that moment if looks could kill, she'd be a murderer just like her mother.

The wedding was short, and sweet, and at the end, Iggy just kissed her on the forehead, a gesture that made them seem so shy and chaste. Iggy and Anna were both a little shy and in all the years they'd been together, no one had ever seen them kiss or do anything more than hold hands, which was part of the reason the pregnancy was such a surprise.

Once the ceremony ended, the guests went in different directions. Some went to the guild to party, some went to a restaurant, some went home, and a handful ended up at the Dreyar house. For a lot of reasons, they'd decided to skip the reception as it was more money they could invest in the newlyweds and no one they knew needed any help to party.

The newlyweds slipped away to make the train and go on a two-week honeymoon provided that Yuri gave them as his wedding gift.

When everyone started to scatter, Sam approached Layla cautiously, hands in his pockets.

Layla gave him a bit of a smile. "It's been good to see you Sam."

"Likewise."

"You want to grab lunch? You're one of the few people I haven't seen," he said.

Their conversation was interrupted by two soldiers who quickly approached and whispered in his ear. He nodded, and then when they left, said, "I have to head back to Crocus tomorrow night. I was hoping to stay for a couple of days, but military life isn't always great."

"You want to spend some time with your parents then?"

"They come visit. Lunch is still on the table, if you're interested," he offered.

Layla nodded. "All right, Captain Redfox. There's a nice little place not far from here. A vegan restaurant."

"Ok, no. I'm a dragon, I need meat."

"Just kidding!" she said with a giggle. "It's a nice place. I'll have a big salad and you can eat a cow."

"Is that really too much to ask?"

Layla looked around to see what everyone else was doing and found Mavis, Lex, and Orga had already vanished, Yuri was sitting with Lilia talking, and their mother was so distracted their father looked good wearing a suit she didn't seem to care what her children were doing.

As an adult, Layla had more appreciation for the people who had known her when she was a child. As a famous wizard, there were always people around, wanting to know her. Then she'd had a string of flirtations and boyfriends who all wanted to know her. She and Sam had been friends since before the time she could remember, and much of her childhood was spent fantasizing about a bright future with him.

Things had just gone really, really wrong there in the middle.

While they were walking, Sam said, "I never got to apologize for everything that happened."

Layla said, "It's all right. Everything turned out well for everyone, so there's no reason to keep thinking about it."

At the restaurant, he ordered a bottle of nice wine, and when it arrived, he teasingly asked, "Are you going to turn into your mom if I give this to you?"

"Of course not. I'm a mean drunk," she matter-of-factly answered.

They talked about wizarding, military life, and about all the adventures they'd had over the years they were separate. There was a strange light in Sam's eyes that hadn't been there before, and she felt comfortable and happy to have him there.

Neither had known what to expect about meeting up again, but they were both relieved it went well. No one was angry or resentful.

It was fun, and peaceful, like a happy epilogue after a few rough chapters of life.

When the food was delivered, she saw him reach for his fork with his right hand, and instead of skin, she saw metal.

"Armor at the table? I'm sure you know better," she teased.

Sam gave her an uneasy smile. "It's not armor."

She reached out and felt the little metal fingers. "You lost your hand?"

"My whole arm is gone, Layla. Not very many people know."

Sam held both of his palms out on the table. His right arm was gone and his left arm still had deep scars from where Layla carved Acnologia's lacrima out of him. "I guess to anybody else I could say it's impossible to know what it's like to lose part of yourself. You're probably one of the only one who knows how it feels to not be a whole person anymore. But then again, karma's a real bitch."

It was the worst feeling in the world, and something that always came back to Layla when she had to look at herself. Her magic eye looked fine and well, but before sleeping, she had to take it out, and that meant seeing the wet-looking red flesh in her eye socket, or how her eyelid just sort of drooped over it.

She had never showed this to any of her boyfriends. For someone who had been permanently injured, there was a certain degree of shame that came along with showing the injury. There was also an ever-present fear the natural vulnerability to produced would be used to cause further harm.

Layla put her hands over Sam's. "You'll get used to it."

"If you ever felt for a second like I do, I'm so sorry," he said.

"How did it happen?"

"When Brago invaded, they sent a bunch of wizards, and the queen asked me to go help. I was hit in the shoulder with heavy artillery. If I didn't have an extremely strong body and iron scales, I feel like my whole top half would have been blown to bits. Wars are gruesome. Ugly, but these are the things that happen to a boy who leaves home to join the military," he explained.

She squeezed his hands. "You should quit and come home."

Sam looked around. "I've really missed Magnolia. My enlistment period ends next year, and I can take retirement since I lost a limb. I think sometimes I should come home and be a wizard, but I don't really know."

When he saw her big, sad eyes, he sheepishly said, "It's okay. Don't feel bad for me. I'm alive, right?"

"Sam…"

They were adults now, and had moved past their difficulties with one another separately. It was important to have peace with the past, but a big question still hung over the future. It would have been easy enough just to be friends, but neither of them could deny there was something deeply meaningful about being there with the other.

A young Layla had their perfect lives all planned out by age three, and there was some tiny part of her that could never quite kill those little musings about Sam. Sure, there were times she'd absolutely hated him, but hate and love weren't mutually exclusive. The hate was gone and that just left a little sliver of love.

Sam really never thought about being with anybody else while Layla tried desperately to fall in love with another man. He'd stayed focused on his career and his duties and dating hadn't really been a priority for him.

They ate and after the meal, he offered to walk her home. She didn't ask about them, and he felt a frantic sense of fear that if they met and they didn't talk about them, it would never happen. In their world, he'd always left her vulnerable and exposed, always hurt her. He decided if someone had to stick their neck out, it was only fair for him to do it.

It was now or never.

Sam said, "You know, you're like a song I can't get out of my head."

They stopped and faced each other on the sidewalk.

It was the moment that had been coming all along, and they were both equally afraid of it. He went out on a limb, and he felt like he couldn't breathe while he waited for her to answer. Whether they would or wouldn't was purely her choice, as it should have been.

Layla searched his face for any hint of the insecure, dangerous boy she'd both feared and hated, but he'd grown up to be a good man. It was the moment of truth that determined if their story ended or if it still had chapters left to be written.

She looked up at him and answered, "I tried to not be like this. I did. I've kissed every frog in Magnolia and none of them turned into my prince. Then I realized I didn't need a prince. I don't need a man at all. I _need_ my dragon, and I'm afraid if I don't say that right now that you're going to leave and we'll the rest of our lives wondering about what might have been."

And suddenly, her feet were dangling six inches of the ground and his lips were on hers.

The kiss was soulful and desperately passionate far beyond anything she'd ever had a mind to imagine. That kiss was different than the kiss she'd shared with all her frogs, most of which were great guys. They weren't Sam, so they were wrong by default.

When he let her feet make contact with the ground, Layla was so weak-kneed she could barely stand.

"Wow," she whispered, before yanking him down for another kiss and only let him go when it started to rain. "Ugh, my hair…"

The rain started to pour quite hard, which was not in any weather forecast for the day.

"Can't you just make an umbrella out of iron or something?" she huffed.

Sam answered, "Yeah, if I want to increase my astronomically high chances of getting struck by lightning. My hotel is close. Let's head over there."

"This is how people in romance novels end up having sex," she answered, crossing her arms over her thin, light-pink dress. Her makeup ran down, making her look like a sad raccoon.

He laughed. "All girls ever think about is sex."

Layla followed him. "I'm so serious. Then we get back and you offer to help me get out of my clothes so they can dry. Then, when I'm half-naked, we're overtaken by passion."

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure this isn't a love story."

"You're right. It's a historical drama that someone is going to write in fifty years. We make sweet love as young adults, and then you get swept off to war and die. Then I raise your bastard child with whoever is my romantic interest for the rest of the story. It'll probably be one of your war buddies, just so they can say you would have wanted me to be loved," she answered as she took her heels off and made her way through the rain barefoot.

Sam listened to this rambling and answered, "Layla, I think it would be a good idea if you don't ever read another book. Ever. And if I do die somehow, I explicitly forbid you from dating anyone that I know."

As it turned out, the hotel _was_ close, and they entered his room just a couple of minutes later.

"Why are you even staying here?"

Sam got her a towel and answered, "My parents are remodeling my room so they can foster child wizards in the guild. It's close to the train."

He dug through his bag for a pair of sweats and she went in the bathroom.

She unpinned her hair because her updo was now just a big wet mess, and combed her fingers through it. She stripped off her soaked clothes and put her heels down on the counter. After she dried off, she found his sweatpants were laughably enormous and his sweatshirt was almost as long as her dress had been.

It did seem like the kind of situation that should have involved sex to her. Her instinct was to resist sex, a reflex that came from a few years of frog-kissing. How many of her boys tried to talk her into it? But Sam was different.

Her cheeks burned when she thought about the idea of being tangled up with Sam in the bed. If his kiss had been any indicator, the more of her that he touched, the better. Consummating their long, tragic relationship would have officially start a new chapter in their lives.

Sam was known for being so saintly she'd never heard a rumor about him being with a woman.

"Sam?" she called through the door.

"Hm?"

"Have you ever?"

"Ever what?"

"You know."

Sam stared nervously at the door. "Ummm….no."

Layla felt relieved. "Me neither."

She opened the door wearing nothing but his sweatshirt.

He was shirtless and sitting on the bed in a pair of sweatpants like the ones she'd left in the bathroom.

His body was a mess for someone so young; one hand and arm was scarred terribly from Acnologia's lacrima and the other arm was gone completely. Where he'd been injured in his shoulder, the scarring was terrible even to look at, so she knew he must have suffered.

"Sam…"

Layla pulled her fake eye out and put it on the nightstand, baring the ugly, wet-looking fleshy mess where her eye once was.

He stood and embraced her tightly, planting a kiss on her sagging eyelid when her hands gently ghosted over his scars. "You want to spend the night?"

She nodded.

"Can you stay put for about ten minutes while I go find some protection?" he asked.

Layla sweetly answered, "I don't need to be protected from you, Sam."

"I don't need to get you pregnant right now. Sometimes, lightning strikes twice, you know," he said.

"I'm a Dreyar, expressions involving lightning got really old for me a long time ago," she answered, reaching for her purse. "Besides, I have protection. Someone put three condoms in all of my fifty purses a few weeks ago. I wonder where my parents got that many condoms, but that's the kind of thing you don't ask about no matter what. I mean, one of your kids gets knocked up so you hide hundreds of condoms for your other kids? I don't even want to know which one of my parents is that crazy."

"Your mom. Your dad isn't resourceful enough to buy a hundred condoms without ending up in Sorcerer's Weekly."

"Good point. Anyway, uhhhh, let's do this."

Sam's heart was pounding so hard he could barely think, but it felt so natural and good and wonderful to be with her. Her little sighs were beyond blissful to him, and when it was over, he took off his prosthetic arm to sleep and she rested her head on his chest.

Layla kissed him. "I feel like I've been waiting for that to happen for my whole life."

"That was amazing. You're amazing. I don't really want to leave, but I have to."

Layla asked, "When is your enlistment over?"

"Nine months."

"That's too long," she pouted.

XXX

Layla found herself trying to sneak quietly back into her house, praying her family was still asleep. She had to talk to them, but she was hoping to at least get her clothes changed so it wasn't so painfully obvious she'd stayed out all night having sex.

But when she opened the front door nearly silently she found the whole family was in the kitchen, staring at her trying to creep in wearing the same clothes she wore the day before.

Her father stopped badgering her mother for answers to his crossword.

Their daughter was twenty, and one of the most powerful wizards in Fiore. If she stayed out all night with Sam, it wasn't something for them to fuss about. The trick to having grown children was learning to respect that they had every right to make adult decisions. It helped them keep them under one roof as they moved into adulthood. If they gave their grown kids a hard time about rules, they could just move out.

Layla said, "Mom, Dad, can we talk to you?"

"Who is this 'we' you speak of?" Laxus said.

She reached out and dragged Sam in through the door. "Us."

Lucy was nearly giddy with delight to see them together, although she would have preferred they take the slow and sweet route. It seemed a bit extreme to go from not seeing one another for years to sleeping together, but again, she had to respect Layla was old enough to make her own decisions and her own mistakes.

Everyone else vanished nearly instantly, preferring to go outside or upstairs.

Laxus and Lucy joined them in the living room.

Layla gripped Sam's hand and said, "Mom, Dad, please don't freak out."

Lucy sighed. "Layla, there is nothing more unsettling in the whole world than when your child utters that phrase."

"As long as you're not pregnant, which, I don't think is possible," Laxus added.

Layla held up her hand and flashed a gold band. "We got married. I'm going with Sam back to Crocus. It's just for a few months, then we'll move back here."

Lucy, in all of her scheming, had forgotten exactly how crazy Sam and Layla were when they were around one another. She was absolutely speechless, as was her husband.

Laxus stared with a gaping jaw for a while. "You guys know this is absolutely insane, right? And it's going to be really hard. Marriage requires you get to know someone, make plans, talk about things. I'm fairly sure you didn't do much talking last night and the last time you two met, you beat the hell out of each other."

"That's the past, Daddy. This is the future."

"I'm very against this," he answered.

Lucy was very irked that her daughter had skipped all the important steps and deprived them of a proper wedding, which was even more ridiculous when one considered how Layla had been planning her enormous dream wedding since she was a toddler.

Laxus considered chewing them out just like his wife did, but it seemed like a pointless waste of time and breath. Layla and Sam weren't going to change their minds no matter how ill-prepared they were to be married.

It was such a foolish decision to them, and to anyone else.

They were especially upset that their daughter was going to run off with him and go live in a different city for several months, because that had never been part of any plan.

They had a train to catch, and Layla had to pack, so after they'd talked for a while, she went upstairs and Lucy followed her.

"Layla, have you lost your mind?"

Her daughter threw several bags on the bed. "Maybe. We'll be okay, Mom."

"You just eloped with a man you haven't seen in six years! There is nothing about this that is okay!" Lucy exclaimed.

"We'll be just fine, Mom. We're adults. We decided we want to get married. We'll figure it out on our own. We've got to make our own way, and that's not something anyone can help us with," she answered as she started to pack.

There was no talking sense into her, and Lucy really didn't want her to leave on a sour note, so she eventually gave up on trying to talk sense into her and reminded her she was loved and she could always come back home if she and Sam had any more crazy left in them.

Downstairs, Laxus glared at Sam without saying a word for a long time.

Then, he said, "I can forgive you for all the dumb shit you've done. I can't forgive you for this. If this goes wrong and you hurt her again, I'm going to make sure you never so much as breath on her for the rest of your lives."

"I'll take good care of her, I promise."

"Sam, you better not get her pregnant for at least a year. Your kind of crazy is not ready for a baby, trust me."

After Layla packed a couple of bags, she kissed her mother and father and dashed out the door after him, on their way to stop at the Redfox house and let them know, then on to Crocus.

When she was gone, Lucy sat down with her husband and rested her head on his lap.

"You're right, we should have chained her in the basement," she said.

"Is it too late?"

"Probably."

 ** _Please Review!_**

Special thanks to kuraheieritr JIO, guest, reremaui, saskiarosee, pandorababe, adabs18, jenheartai, chipthemunkey, thealicehuntt, 17, queenofws, screeney, stavroula99, shka, light heartfilia, katiekat2001, twiztidprincess, b2utifulshawol, lunastarlady, tiernank, guest, hmmm12, neried, katelyn, kai-kagamine-miraimine, paname, myfictionalfantasy, sassykitten1701, and arouraleona for reviewing!

Next chapter has lots of Lex and Mavis. :D


	63. The Girls Are Growing Up

Lucy never thought she'd see the day her husband entertained a feud with one of their children, but a month after Layla ran off and eloped, a stack of letters she wrote faithfully every day to him sat unopened in his study. The truth was her husband was very hurt by the sudden marriage, and it had thrown his entire sense of self off.

They were both extremely disappointed in Layla, but Lucy just had an easier time accepting what was done was done.

Laxus? Not so much.

He was the kind of guy who could only sleep on one side of the bed, only drank one brand of coffee, wore the same color of boxers, and if everything else in a wizard's life was unpredictable, there were certain things in his life that had to stay under control.

It truthfully _was_ hard to suddenly have two empty seats at the table.

It did hurt.

Lucy wondered if anyone in the world had cut her husband as deeply as Layla did by absconding with her love without so much as a warning. Lucy got letters too and had been writing back every day so she knew her family still loved her, but Layla ended up being very upset because she felt like her father hated her.

But he didn't want to talk about it.

When they'd been married for a month, Lucy was on her way to force him to talk to her and she found him sitting there with all his letters torn up all over the desk. He had his hands over his face, a tumbler of whiskey to one side.

"She's unhappy because of me, not Sam," he said.

Lucy approached him and hugged him from behind, wrapping her arms around her neck. She kissed his fluffy silvery hair. "I'm not happy they did it either. But they're married and they're probably going to need as much support as they can get from everyone, especially you. You're an important person for both of them, and Layla is your baby girl. You know she didn't do it to hurt us. She's just excited to go live her own life. She's always been the crazy one, and when she makes up her mind, there's no stopping her. Remember this is the kid who carved art into her face so people wouldn't know someone gouged her eye out. That's a special kind of stubborn, and I'm sure she got that from you."

Her eyes were drawn to another piece of nostalgia that had appeared in her husband's possession. This time, he had a baby's drawing, a mess of mindless pink and purple scribbles with some gold in the middle.

"I remember this. Layla drew it right?" she said.

Laxus nodded. "That's me and her, in case you couldn't tell. She was so proud of it. It's amazing how many things I realize I never fully appreciated having them so close. A father was an important person to a family with three little girls. Big girls? Not so much."

Lucy sat on the desk in front of him, neatly stacking the letters. Then she pinched his cheek and said, "I feel like you've been a big bag of depressed lately. Nobody died, Laxus. Anna lives across the street. She ate all of her meals here today and spent most of our day complaining on our couch. Layla is basically on a long job in Crocus. It's just not a wizarding job. She's playing house with Sam, and they're doing just fine. You know that girl is happy."

"I don't understand how they are able to get along."

His wife shrugged. "By doing the same thing every newlywed couple does to work out their frustrations. Argue, sex, lather, rinse, repeat."

"Say no more."

Lucy pulled him forward and kissed him. "Layla is complicated, but you know the thing she's always wanted most is to be completely in love with someone. She and Sam had to go through a lot to get to this point. So don't you think if they can be tenacious and strong enough to make it through everything they have that they can manage?"

Laxus still felt like sulking, but he'd detected a change in his wife's attitude. "You're getting used to the idea."

"Honey, we don't have a choice. They're not bad kids. They are young and crazy and love, and there's nothing wrong with that. I know Layla hurt you. You're the daddy. You were supposed to give her away, and she ran off instead. But you know she's always had a wild spirit. No man can tame Layla. Not you, and not Sam. I'm sure he'll figure that out soon enough," she said.

Laxus noticed one letter he hadn't opened and reached to her left to take it. He ripped it open and found a handful of photographs and a letter. He looked at the pictures first, tilting his head one way. Whatever it was, it was small, black and very hairy.

Lucy smiled. "That's Baby. Sam found a little abandoned kitten missing half of one of his little ears. Normally, he wouldn't be able to do much to help because of his work schedule but the little guy was in bad shape, so he brought it home for Layla. Honey, they went on birth control and adopted a pet. I think they're going to be okay."

He reluctantly decided to swallow his disappointment and his hurt, because it really was pointless. He couldn't stay mad at her forever. Well, he could, but then he'd lose his precious baby girl forever and if it went on any longer, it was going to become a major marital problem and he couldn't bear that either. Long term, there was no room for resentment in a loving family, and if he was stubborn enough, he'd have everybody pissed off at him eventually.

Laxus sighed. "I'll go visit next week, if you can stay and keep an eye on the guild. We have three new members and Natsu and Erza are gone, so I think they might need some help."

"…probably be someone who knows we have five new members, not three…" she teased.

"So, let's talk about a wedding gift."

"Are we buying them a house? That seems excessive and they're a little older and not pregnant."

Lucy glared. "Sam makes more money than we do, so NO. Layla said he's got a fortune. Plus he gets to take a pension when he retires because of his arm, so he'll still be making a living even without going on jobs, and when he leaves the military, he's going to get a bonus. I'm honestly glad. He's organized and good with money, makes budgets and keeps track of income, expenses, and knows how to invest a little. Layla has been s-class for four years and has blown almost all of her money shopping, eating cake at fancy restaurants, and spas. Sam has her on a very strict shopping budget now, which is probably the best thing that's ever happened to her."

"That's actually extremely amusing to me. Sam has a shit ton of money and he won't let Layla spend it. I bet that pisses her off to no end."

"He's really disciplined about it. He won't even let her sex it out of him."

"More information than I needed. But, maybe it's good for her to be with someone like that."

"See? Sam's good for her. And she's good for Sam. They're fine. Anyway, I think we should give them a really nice honeymoon. Hisui said she'd given Sam leave of absence for a couple of weeks, and we could send them off someplace nice and exotic, where he won't be bothered by the military. Maybe one of the islands."

Laxus found this agreeable and nodded. "Just make sure it's a place with lots of great shopping."

She thumped his nose. "Be good, Honey. I'll make all the arrangements, and you can deliver the tickets and papers to them when you visit and let your baby know her daddy's feelings were just a little hurt. Make friends with your grandkitten too."

Downstairs, Anna was sitting at the table cutting up onions.

She had a little pile of onions, some chocolate chips, hot pickles, and a big bowl of chocolate ice cream.

Lex was sitting there at the table, his feet kicking happily under the table as he watched in excitement. "Are you really going to eat it?"

She said, "Why is this funny to you?"

"At school, my friends dare each other to eat weird stuff all the time. Sometimes, we mix everything in everyone's lunches together, and the person who eats it gets money. I don't even have to pay you to watch you do it," he excitedly answered.

Anna answered, "I'll get you if you don't stop teasing me, Lex!"

Mavis came in and sat down with him. "Don't worry, she's just blowing smoke, and probably a lot of farts. I feel like her belly is probably ten percent baby and ninety perfect flatulence. On the upside, she's too big to run already. But, if you were running down a hill and she just sort of rolled…she might flatten you."

Anna glared furiously at her twin, who seemed delighted by the fact she was annoyed.

It was true; at eighteen weeks pregnant with twins, she looked like a normal woman might be at six months. All she wanted was to have a cute little belly, but her mother said a woman having twins was destined to eventually have the same physique of a whale that washed up on the beach.

They watched her eat with great interest and then Lex asked, "Do you want more to eat?"

"No thank you. I'm big enough, but you're such a sweet brother," Anna answered.

Mavis said, "Lex and I have a bet. I have to take him to Hargeon amusement park if you get so big you can't use the door anymore."

Anna's eyebrow twitched again. "Lex, is that why you offered me more food? Are you trying to make me get bigger on purpose?! So you can go to Hargeon?"

"Of course not. You're my big sister, but if you just happen to get too big and I get to ride the world's largest water slide, that would be okay, right?" he said, giving her the gentle kind of smile that typically allowed him to wiggle out of trouble. He might not have been a Dreyar by blood, but in the custom of Dreyar men, he knew how to piss off a woman and how to live to do it again.

"If you get on that water slide, you will puke until your eyeballs fall out, and I will watch," Anna answered.

And then, he decided it was a good time to change the subject.

"Anna, if you have babies in you, how are they going to get out?" he curiously asked.

The twins looked at one another and realized their little brother apparently had no clue about the inner workings of babies and parents. Lex was the kind of guy that got by not asking too many questions, so his curiosity was purely innocent.

"DAD!" they yelled in unison.

Laxus appeared at the top of the stairs nearly instantaneously, because he had a new instinct that was based on his pregnant daughter yelling his name. The others were old enough and mature enough he felt inclined to pretend he didn't hear, but Anna being pregnant made him worry and panic.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he downgraded his panic level and realized his kids were just annoying each other.

Anna said, "Lex wants to know how the babies are going to get out! I just ate the grossest thing, and I'm getting huge, and my belly is itchy—why is it so itchy?!"

Laxus frowned. "Anna, please calm down. That thing is going to happen. I can feel it."

Anna poked Lex with her finger and shocked him. "Like that, Dad?!" She kept shocking him with her fingertip while he stared at his father until she sneezed and fire came out of her nose onto a napkin. Anna did not have any dragon blood as far as they knew, but when she got emotional for the past two weeks, she became electrified and had fire-related issues, leading to accidental and intentional shocks and quite a few burnt tissues.

She slid off her chair and said, "I'm going to my own house. I have marshmallows and soy sauce there and you can't stop me. And Lex, have fun having your childhood ruined!"

Mavis smiled like a devil when the door closed. "Dad, you know what? Yuri was a tramp for a while, Layla ran off and eloped with some punk from the army she hadn't even gone out on a single date with. Anna got knocked up. You know what that makes me? The good one!"

Laxus' brow rose. "That's kind of sad, actually."

"I use birth control and live a lifestyle of reluctant monogamy. I am the most responsible and well-behaved of the Blonde Ones!"

"Lex is our favorite. Fifth try is the charm? Things apparently went wrong on our previous attempts to raise normal children," Laxus said.

There was some merit to Mavis' argument, despite the fact she lived an entire lifestyle of mischief. She never got into any real trouble, ever. She used her magic in precise, powerful bursts rather than wholesale destruction. She was careful and treated all strangers equally terrible, which meant all of them just expected it. She made no serious enemies, had no personal drama, and didn't make crazy decisions.

But still…

"Lex is our favorite. Fifth try is the charm? Things apparently went wrong on our previous attempts to raise normal children," Laxus said.

"I think I want some marshmallows if you're going to be like that," she said.

Mavis bounced out the door after her sister and followed her into the house.

She spent quite a lot of time at Iggy and Anna's house, presumably because she wasn't quite ready to be without her twin.

This left Laxus and Lex in the kitchen, with dishes and a napkin still burning on the table.

"My childhood is ruined?" Lex asked.

"Sort of. Let's have a little man to man talk," his father answered, patting out the napkin.

"Are you going to tell me how the babies are going to get out?"

"Yes, and when I do, you're going to wish I hadn't."

Laxus cleaned up and washed dishes while he talked and Lex sat at the table sipping chocolate milk through a straw with wide eyes.

Lucy and Laxus loved Lex, and since they were older, they were a lot gentler with him. By the time they'd raised their other kids, they'd figured out there were a lot of things they didn't really have to worry about. Children found their own path in the world, and what parents did was prepare them for that process.

Lex learned a lot from his older siblings too: playful mischief from Mavis, patience from Anna, study habits from Layla, and what he and Yuri referred to as 'guy-ness.' He idolized his brother, loved his sisters, adored his mother, and wanted to be just like his dad someday.

Once Laxus finished explaining the parts of the birds and the bees that were age appropriate for a seven-year-old, Lex stared at him for a long time.

"Are you horrified or confused?" his father asked.

"Both," his son answered in bewilderment.

There was a pounding on the door that one might assume came from a large angry man, but before Laxus opened it, he heard high-pitched yelling and thumping sounds.

On the other side was Jane Dragneel and Julia Fullbuster. Jane had pink hair and her demon tail was out and on full display, and raven-haired, blue eyed Julia left big chunks of ice on the front step where the 'little rival demons' (as they were affectionately called) had been fighting at the door. Anyone who thought rival males were brutal would have been surprised to see how ruthless, cruel, and violent two little girls could be while fighting with each other.

"Lex can come play with me."

"No, stupid, he's going with me!"

Laxus watched them march in and continue slapping and yelling at each other over Lex's attention while Lex sat fearfully with his chocolate milk. He wasn't the kind of boy that wanted to have girls as his friends, and he frankly found them a little weird and gross, especially these two. But if he chose one, the other would make him pay and if he ran from them, they'd join forces and hunt him like an animal.

Usually, Laxus enjoyed watching his son trying his best to contend with this situation, but not because it was in any way educational. It just amused him as a parent and he felt entitled to that joy even if it meant watching his son squirm nervously, attempt to reason with crazy little girls, or run for his life.

But today, he decided to have mercy on Lex.

"Girls, he's going to help me today. Why don't you two go on to the Jane's house and do something nice. Play with dolls. Braid your hair. Be cute little girls and not monsters for once," he said.

Jane said, "Who would want to play with ice breath?"

"Look who's talking, lizard demon freak!"

Laxus took the newspaper, turned to the crossword puzzle, and tuned out the sounds of a fire demon and an ice wielder shrieking threats at one another. Pieces of ice flew through the air, the smell of ash hit his nose again. They ran out after one another after tipping over a table in the living room and singing the rug.

After the door slammed and he felt safe, Lex whispered, "Thanks, Dad. Girls are the worst!"

"Not all girls, son. Just those two. Well, that's a lie. Beautiful women also tend to be crazy, so I assume being cute also makes women mad."

"Is that why Mom is crazy?"

And this was the first thing Lucy heard when she entered the kitchen, slipped on a piece of ice, and fell on her butt. "Ow! Little boy, did I hear you say I was crazy?!"

Lex knew his father had saved him from crazy girls but did not have the courage to return the favor. "Dad said it! He said you're crazy cause you're pretty!"

Lucy stood up, rubbed her butt and said, "Do I kiss you or hit you? I don't even know."

Laxus asked, "What's a seven letter word for an element found in bones?"

His wife had already resigned herself to a lifetime of helping him finish crossword puzzles and being kept in a near-constant state of agitation, so she shook her head and said, "Calcium."

She hugged and kissed both her boys, cleaned the ice up off the floor, and had breakfast while her son and her husband chattered about this and that. Yuri had always been in a world run by little girls, but Lex resisted it with every fiber of his being, so he was quite a different little man that his brother was.

She gave her husband a little more love, because she knew his heart was in a delicate place. He knew why she was doing it, but he was a little old to have too much pride. Plus, affection from his wife was always the best thing in the world anyway. She could make him feel excited and happy to be with her even though they'd apparently been together for 'an eternity,' according to their kids.

"When is Anna's doctor's appointment?" Lucy asked.

"Three. No sign of Iggy yet. I told Yuri when they left they needed to be back if it was at all possible," her husband answered.

She said, "You can go on to the guild, and I'll take her if Iggy doesn't get back from the job. Maybe we'll stop and get some new maternity outfits, because that girl is getting huge."

"Enormous," he answered.

Lex said, "But shhh, don't tell her that. I said it was cool she was bigger than anyone I know and she pushed me in the pool and threw her Aquarius key in!"

Laxus glanced over his newspaper. "Lex, pregnant women are like wild animals. They look nice and sweet, but they will kill you if you do the wrong thing."

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, I think subconsciously, every pregnant woman believes it's okay to kill someone since they're adding a person to the world. Add one, take one away, the universe breaks even," his father explained.

Lucy took a deep breath. "Lex, your dad is an idiot. Be glad you're adopted."

"I am. Mavis says the Blonde Ones don't have human souls. I have a soul. I think."

"Mavis is one of the Blonde Ones, and do you think she doesn't have a soul?" Lucy asked.

Lex thought about this and then answered, "I believe it, Mom."

Lucy decided to leave her husband and son to whatever they intended to do with themselves, although she incorrectly assumed Laxus was going to go to work. It had been on his plan, but after Lucy ruffled all their feathers and then headed across the street to Anna's house, he decided it would be a good day to take some time with Lex.

He knew before he even realized how much time passed, Lex would be a man with his own life and his own plans. It was a better day for fishing and being outside teaching him the things he'd need as a traveling wizard although this task was a lot easier for someone who could eat the good and the bad mushrooms with equal satisfaction.

Mavis went on to the guild and Lucy took Anna to her appointment when Iggy didn't make it back on time. They went to a doctor first, then a healing wizard on the edge of town to find out exactly what she had growing inside of her.

"Maybe we should just be surprised," she said.

Lucy dragged her along anyway. "Your pregnancy wasn't enough of a surprise? Don't you want to know? You could have two little girls like you and Mavi, or two little boys, or a boy and a girl. Grams wants to know about the itty bitties!"

Anna's brow twitched for what felt like the tenth time that day. "Was this your evil plan? Take me to my doctor's appointment so you can satisfy your own curiosities?"

"Yes," Lucy admitted.

Anna _was_ excited, but she could have a little less of scheming grandparents. Lisanna had already filled one of their bedrooms with all kinds of baby stuff, Natsu insisted on grocery shopping for her but couldn't follow the list, her dad was constantly trying to feed her, and her mother was her rock for the most part. Mostly.

"Ugh, Mom, enough with your creepy ulterior grandmother motives!"

Lucy said gave her tummy a pat and teased, "You turned me into this monster!"

"Fine, we'll do it, but only because I want to know for myself and for my husband."

There were no words for how weird it was to hear her child refer to her 'husband,' or when Iggy called her his 'wife,' although he still couldn't do it without blushing. There were times Lucy still didn't know how Anna had somehow gotten pregnant with such a bashful man, but the fire sneezing was proof it could have been no other.

Anna went into the healer's shop and they were taken back to a private room.

The healer cut her finger and let the blood drip into a little container, then disappeared, leaving the two blondes.

Lucy was gleefully excited. "I can't wait! What do you and Iggy want?"

"We mostly just want them to be okay. A lot of things can go wrong with twins. Did you have complications?"

"Tons. I had a placental abnormality and was told not to get pregnant again. Had to stay in the hospital for a while. You want me to show you my scar where you and your apparently soulless sister were cut from my poor body?"

"No thanks. I have nightmares already. Is that why you adopted Lex?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Kid, three times is the maximum number of times your husband can get you pregnant. On the fourth time, you get to kill him and bathe in his blood and no one will think you're a bad person. Besides, I was tired of being pregnant and Lex was just…like a fast food baby. No nausea, no additions to my stretch mark collection, my poor breasts got a break—at least for a while, no blood. Just a cute little fat baby."

Anna looked down at her belly. "Did you go to classes? When you were pregnant the first time."

"I did. And I dragged your dad with me."

"No! My dad? My dad went to childbirth classes? I don't believe that."

Lucy nodded. "You know your dad is the one who delivered Yuri, right? It was just him and me."

"My dad delivered a baby? How do I not know this?! That's completely unbelievable."

"It's true. I pushed that kid out into his hands while he stared at me like a terrified idiot. To this day, I'd give up one of my feet to have a picture of his face," she answered.

The wizard came back with a piece of paper, handed it to Anna and quickly left to tend to another customer.

Anna opened it up and then showed her mother.

Lucy lunged at her daughter and hugged her tummy. "The itty bitties are boys!"

"Mom!"

Baby dragon boys sounded like quite a handful, but it also seemed a little bit perfect somehow. From when they'd found out about the pregnancy, their family had been in a state of transformation, but as chaotic as it was, everything seemed to be falling into place like it was always supposed to be that way.

Of course, Iggy and Anna would raise twin boys across the street from their Gams and Grams. It wasn't a stretch to think they'd probably get into all kinds of trouble and mischief that demanded their mother's kindness and their father's patience.

"I win again!" Lucy said as they left.

"Wait, did you and Dad bet on this?! What did you bet?"

Lucy shrugged. "You're a married woman, but trust me, you don't want to know."

"Ew. You guys are so gross."

"…says the girl who got pregnant on a wizarding job."

Anna said, "Actually, no. We were at home."

"Ha! So it wasn't my fault for letting you go on jobs alone together!"

"…in Dad's hammock."

Lucy couldn't help but crack up at this, because her husband loved his hammock but hated for anyone else to get in it. He'd even glare at his own wife. There were times he tolerated sharing it but his opinion was clear that it should not be in use if he was not in it.

"Never tell him. He will destroy the thing he loves," she said.

They stopped to get a few more outfits to accommodate her rapidly growing belly, and then at a store next door for little blue outfits.

"I really did kind of want a little girl," Anna admitted as she held up a little blue onesie.

"You've got the wrong idea. Boys are the best. They love their mamas, no matter how old they get. They're a lot less trouble for mothers. Now Iggy…Iggy is in for it when these little guys start testing their boundaries. They'll give him so much grief and then come home and try to help you and make your life better. Being mama to baby boys is wonderful."

By the time they got back to Iggy and Anna's house, Iggy was back from his job with a busted nose, a few yards of bandages, and his arm in a sling.

Lucy put Anna down for a nap and changed her son-in-law's bandages, fed him, and sent him along to have a sleepy, snuggly afternoon with his new wife. Treating him like family, or seeing Natsu and Lisanna treating Anna as their daughter-in-law was definitely a transition, but it was warm. The knitting of their families together was a lovely thing to Lucy.

XXX

Laxus made his way to Crocus, train tickets and hotel slips in an envelope tucked neatly in his coat. Like it or not, his wife was right about nearly everything. No good would ever come from him harboring resentment against Layla, especially not for living her life. Maybe her decision hurt him, but it wasn't like she'd done it purposefully.

In the end, she was just living her life in her own crazy little way.

At Mercurius, guards showed him to Sam's apartment…well, Sam and Layla's apartment. The door used to say Captain Redfox, but that little sign had been replaced with, "Captain & Mrs. Redfox."

He knocked on the door, and when it flew open, Layla was wearing nothing but black lace lingerie because Sam was due back from visiting a military installation and hadn't been home in three days. She'd bought the sexiest lingerie she could find, had her hair extra cute, some red lip gloss, smoky eye makeup, and a great tan.

And there was her dad, just staring with a confused, terrified look on his face.

She shrieked and slammed the door in his face.

The door reopened three minutes later, and she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, the lip gloss had been wiped off her lips.

"Hi, Daddy!" she jumped into his arms and whispered, "I'm so sorry…you weren't supposed to see that. I thought you were Sam."

"Shhh...if we never speak of it, it didn't happen," he answered.

She pulled him in and he found that she'd redecorated the apartment in such a way it was clear a very feminine presence resided there.

Layla jumped into his arms again and squeezed him so tight he thought she was going to crush his ribcage. "Daddy! I love you so much! I'm so sorry for hurting you. I was just over-excited and I just…I didn't want to miss Sam again."

"It's all right. You have to live your life. Just like everybody else," he gently said.

Layla was absolutely glowing, and from the way she was walking, he wondered if her feet were actually touching the ground.

"You guys are doing well?" he asked.

Layla lit up and nodded. "We're doing really good, Daddy. Being married is really wonderful."

He wanted to express his grievance that he hadn't gotten to give her away, but that would have been as fruitless as telling Anna he wasn't happy she'd gotten pregnant, or Yuri that he'd had sex with countless women, or really…criticizing any of them for anything. Their lives were theirs, and they were all making big decisions.

In their dining room, he found magic books strewn about, with notes that looked like they'd been written by a madman.

Layla saw him glance at the mess. "That's my special project. Since I'm not really doing any jobs right now, I wanted to work on my magic. See, I had this great idea. You know, I can fire off Fairy Glitter now."

"Terrifying."

She grinned and pulled up her sleeve and showed him a tattoo on her arm that resembled the glowing mark that appeared when the spell was used. "So Fairy Glitter and heavenly light magic are already basically cousins, but they both have some areas where they aren't perfect. But it's like me and Sam, sometimes two incomplete things can be one perfect thing."

Laxus flipped through the pages. "You're so crazy, sometimes I forgot how smart you are. The marriage of light magic and fairy magic sounds…powerful."

"Honestly, you've been calling me 'the crazy one' and the dramatic one of your kids for as long as I can remember and you're surprised I did something a crazy person would do. Don't be so shocked at the marriage of the melodramatic madwoman and her dragon," she said.

"Has that ever offended you? Now I think maybe that was mean, and we shouldn't have done it," he said.

Layla shrugged. "I honestly never cared. So what if someone thinks I'm crazy? I always ignore opinions about me that I find unfavorable. Besides, I'm going to become a wizard saint. I better not get passed up just for being young. And screw Jellal for ruining that for me."

"Your last name will make you some enemies in high places. There are a lot of people that are uncomfortable with how many powerful wizards are in the family. If that doesn't make them squirm, we've got big hooks in several other powerful families, especially the dragons."

The blonde huffed. "No one will stop me."

He sat and looked through her notes, and found the work was exactly what one might expect from one of the greatest magic prodigies of the century. It was always strange for him to try and reconcile the genius with the personality.

Layla gave him a handwritten journal with a bow on it. "Could you give this to Mavis?"

"What is this?"

"Gams left some unfinished notes. I read them all the time but I couldn't figure out what was missing, so when I decided to come up here, I knew I'd be by the National Magic Library. It was Titan Magic. I think he was writing it down for Mavis. I was able to figure out the missing parts from studying other disciplines. I have no desire to be fifty feet tall. That's the kind of crazy sick thing that would make her day."

Laxus flipped through the journal. "I am officially terrified of my offspring. You've done all this in this short amount of time?"

"I'm kind of inspired, I guess."

This was probably the clearest sign that Layla was doing well. Like any genius, she had productive and unproductive periods. When she wasn't happy or had something else on her mind, she was limited, but with a clear, focused mind, she was peerless. Her frog-kissing marathon had actually impacted her intellectual pursuits enormously, and now Sam was in the picture, her mind was a perfect machine again.

There was a tiny meow, and she bent down to pick up an angry little kitten from a basket.

"Baby! Dad, this is Baby. My baby."

He bent down. "I'm so glad you're not a real baby that I'm not going to complain about them talking about you like you are. Grow up, listen to your mom, and you better stay off the catnip."

"If he's bad when he grows up, we'll just send him off to live with his grandparents."

"The Redfoxes will be happy to assist you with your furry child, I'm sure. The Exceed your pregnant sister and you left behind at our house has been running around with Yuri these days."

"Rai just likes trouble."

Laxus followed her into the kitchen and held her kitten.

"You want to eat with me, Daddy? I cooked for Sam, but it's getting pretty late. He's probably already eaten by now. Besides, I see him all the time and I really missed you."

She fixed their plates, and he sat at the smaller table in their breakfast area with her.

Layla put a plate in front of him with a huge, juicy steak and a potato, with some asparagus on the side. She poured him a glass of wine and he found this side of her strangely fascinating. She didn't seem like a little girl anymore, like she'd leapt forward several years.

He assumed they were doing just fine if she was ambushing him at the door with lingerie and steak. Being a newlywed was a wonderful and oftentimes awkward period that were marked by all sorts of bliss, and honestly, he was happy she could have those experiences.

"I heard Sam won't let you spend his money," he teased.

"Ugh. That guy. He can be a real military blowhard. When I buy groceries, he makes me keep track of how much things cost. We have budgets for everything. You know what the worst thing about Sam is, Dad? And I know the military did this to him, because I knew him in the good old days."

"What?"

"Sam wakes up at four-thirty in the morning. And you know what he wants to do first thing in the morning? First the alarm goes off, then he rolls over on me with his morning breath when it's still dark outside and asks me if I love him. At four-thirty in the morning, I don't love anything or anyone, Daddy. I don't even want to be conscious," she said.

"I don't need to know anything else," her father said, choking down his wine, "I don't know whether I should be more disgusted you're telling me about your sex life or amused the girl who sleeps until noon whenever possible married into the military. You're actually very undisciplined. Your sleeping schedule had no structure, you waste all your money, you don't make plans one would expect from someone as smart as you are. We decided it was a crazy genius thing and just hoped you'd be okay."

Layla sipped her wine. "Sam plans his day, his budget, his wardrobe, his workouts, his chores, everything. The guy knows how much our dates are going to cost and the exact time we're going to get home when we go out."

"You'll probably meet somewhere in the middle. That's something that would have ironed itself out through arguments and fighting while dating, but you guys skipped that."

"We've had a few fights. Kind of fiery ones."

Laxus gave her a little smile. "If you're happy, don't worry about it. When you're young and everything is really emotional and passionate, the fights are a lot worse. Both people are stubborn and no one wants to give up. When you get older, you'll realize fighting is just sort of pointless and a lot of work. It's easier to let your Mom do something that pisses me off than it is to fight about it."

When they were finished eating, they washed dishes together.

"How's Mom?"

"She's good. Excited for you."

"And everyone else?"

"Yuri and Lilia are trying to reconcile, Mavis is Mavis, Lex's world is still ruled by little girls—you know the princess has a little crush on him too, so he's almost to harem status yet thinks girls are gross and scary."

Layla smiled. "Poor little guy."

"Anna's having twin boys. She's getting enormous. You should come by and visit her. It's interesting to see her growing like that. Pregnancy does to her what wine does to you and breathing does to Mavis. She's pretty mean. It's kind of fun to get on her nerves and then remind her she's the sweet one. She cried about tweezers yesterday," he said.

"Dad, that's terrible."

Watching her be happy was enough to help soothe his assorted wounds, because that was all he'd ever wanted for her from the start. The broken heart of a half-empty house had never been avoidable, and if she'd done it this way or another, her bedroom would have been just as empty.

"What are your plans?"

Layla said, "After he finishes his enlistment, we're going to come back to Magnolia. Maybe get a place. He's planning on rejoining the guild. We'll be working wizards. Start a family eventually."

He stayed with her well into the night, just talking and drinking cocoa with his baby girl.

He told her all about the day she was born, and what it was like for him to be a daddy to a little girl. She told him how he was really the most important man who she'd ever have in her life, because without him, she'd never have become anybody.

She'd missed her daddy, her family, her home, and she didn't have a problem admitting she had no idea how hard it would be to be away from her parents. In a moment, she'd felt she was ready to leap from the nest and fly, and fly she had, but she still longed for the nest and all those who called it home.

The door opened and closed quietly, and she jumped up from the table and ran to greet her new husband.

Laxus leaned against the door to the kitchen and watched them kiss while Sam held her so close her feet were swinging happily above the floor.

Maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe she'd unknowingly inherited Makarov's weird clairvoyance, but he could remember a tiny little Layla insisting Sam was going to be a knight in shining armor. That's exactly what he'd turned into, having shed the baggage of his teenage years with such success those things hadn't help him back in the end.

He hadn't expected to feel this way, but Laxus was actually really happy that Sam was so happy too. The guy looked like he smiled so hard it hurt him at the sight of his young little wife. They were young and crazy in love and probably a little just plain crazy.

And everything was okay.

Wonderful, even.

If they hadn't jumped, they wouldn't have been happy together, and Laxus wouldn't have wished a less happy future on his daughter.

Sam greeted him, seeming a bit fearful, but Laxus didn't mention the elopement.

"My wife and I decided to send along a little wedding gift. Lucy arranged it all with the queen, Sam. You're on leave until you get back from your honeymoon with Layla," he said, handing them the envelope. "Everything is in there."

Layla screamed and gave him a big hug. "Daddy!"

"You two have fun."

Layla ran off with the envelope to the kitchen to put it away somewhere safe, and as soon as she was out of his line of vision, Laxus glared at Sam and gave him a single highly electrified punch to the back of his skull.

Sam lost consciousness immediately and crumbled to the floor, his hair puffing up.

Layla came back in and dove next to him. "Sam? Sam? Dad, what happened?"

"Maybe he was tired from his trip and fainted," Laxus offered.

His daughter was very worried, and then she touched his hair and found it stood up and stuck to her hand. "Dad, why is his hair standing up?"

"Dragging his feet on the carpet?"

"You're so terrible, Daddy."

"Goodnight, Baby."

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	64. The Family Dinner

Lucy entered the master bedroom of their house on a surprisingly cold winter day a couple of months later and found her husband flat on his back in the middle of the bed, legs and arms splayed out. It looked strange, like something was wrong, and dammit—something better have been wrong. He promised to cook her a delicious dinner and she came home to nothing. Nothing!

"What's wrong?"

He stared up at the ceiling. "The most terrible thing has happened."

"Stop being dramatic! Someone promised me kabobs and a big green salad. No excuses, I want food!"

He sat up and held something between his fingers.

Lucy approached him and took the little yellowish-white pebble. "What is this?"

"I think it's a kidney stone," he answered as he flopped back down.

She dropped it on the nightstand because it actually a little bit gross to her. "You passed a kidney stone?!"

"I did. It was awful."

Laxus really didn't mind most of the aging process, but once in a while, life reminded him that he was getting _old_. He wasn't in bad health, but a man in his late forties just isn't the same as he was twenty years before.

Lucy sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you okay?"

"That all depends on how much grief you intend to give me about going to a doctor," he earnestly answered.

His wife leaned over him and at first, he thought she was going to kiss him, but instead she just stared at him with a somewhat rude and perturbed expression. "You peed a rock. You're going to the doctor. It's not even up for debate."

Laxus answered, "Never. Laugher is the best medicine. Tell me a joke. A blonde joke."

"This is serious! Stop trying to get on my nerves!"

"Gramps had kidney stones too. He didn't die. He just got to experience the hellish experience of trying to push something out of one's body with horrific, bloody results. You can't imagine the pain."

"…he says to the woman that gave birth to his children…" she answered.

"Oh, right. Holy shit, that must have been awful. Ugh," he cringed as he remembered his pain, unable to imagine how terrible it must have been to eject an entire person from the body.

Lucy snuggled up and rested her head on his shoulder. "We used to be one of the hot young wizard couples. Now we're going to be grandparents, I'm going through menopause, and you have kidney stones. We really are getting old."

"I could do without the pissing of blood and rocks, but the rest has been tolerable. Except your freezer blanket. The freezer blanket can go to hell, I hate waking up to frozen junk, although that sounds nice right about now."

She kissed his cheek. "I'm going to go get you some medicine and some whiskey, then I'll fix us something to eat, okay?"

He smiled. "You're so good to me."

"I love you, so I can't help it. I hope you feel better soon, Baby. And you're going straight to the doctor in the morning. Don't argue with me about it. You need to save your strength to _drink more water_ like I've been saying for two decades. I hope the doctor writes a big fat prescription for 'I told you so.'"

Her husband rolled his eyes. "Babe, why would I need that? I'm married. I have a supply of 'I told you so's' that's probably going to last longer than I will."

"I'll have it carved on my gravestone just so you can't escape spousal foresight, even in eternity."

"It scares me that you can say something so morbid in such a cheery voice."

Lucy kissed him and said, "It's really not that morbid. I just need you to know even in death you won't escape me. It's kind of sweet."

"That creeps the hell out of me and makes me very happy at the same time," he said, staring up at the ceiling. Then he turned his head to her. "I think I like you."

"I think I like you too," she answered.

"If my dick didn't feel like I pissed a grenade, I'd hit that so hard."

Lucy kissed him again. "You'll feel better if you just rest and take it easy. You've got to take better care of yourself."

When Lucy came down to make dinner, she found the house was weirdly quiet. Lex was spending the night with Crash, Mavis was on her way back from a job, Layla and Anna no longer lived in the house, and Yuri who was supposed to be gone had come in early from his job and was in the kitchen with Lex's hamster cage with a black eye and bandages around his wrist.

"How was your job?"

"It was good. Little fight, nothing serious," he said, a hint of tension in his voice.

"What are you doing with the cage, anyway? It's kind of exciting his hamster had babies. I feel like everyone is pregnant lately except me, and that makes me happy," she said.

Yuri nervously said, "So, I was walking past his room and I thought I'd see if they'd gotten any bigger."

"Is that blood?" she asked.

Her son explained, "It looks like one of them left the nest, so she killed and ate it."

Lucy covered her mouth. "Oh my. I'm glad Lex didn't find that."

"Yes, he's too young," her son answered.

"To learn about the circle of life?"

"To learn what mothers are really like."

She made a face at him and stuck out her tongue. "It's true. Just because I didn't kill and eat you in front of your siblings doesn't mean I didn't think about it at least once."

Yuri got rid of the evidence of the crime, put the cage back in his brother's room, and then after washing up, helped his mom make a start with dinner.

Lucy smiled while he was chopping carrots and was quite proud of herself as a mother. All of her kids, regardless of gender, were capable of doing everything to take care of themselves. That included cooking, doing laundry, cleaning, and the skills wizards needed, like fighting and outdoor survival. Despite the fact their kids didn't do everything the way their parents might have preferred, they were all excellent people.

"How are things going with Lilia?" she asked.

Yuri grinned a little. "We both changed a lot, you know. But I think it's good. We just have to get to know each other again. I was a little unnerved at first, and I think she was too, but I really like the person she is now, and I think she likes me too."

"I'm glad. You guys were crazy when you were teenagers. I was ready to pull my hair out when you two were younger. I'm glad she had an opportunity to live on her own. Being independent as a woman is a really great thing. There are times I wish all your sisters had some time to be on their own, but I don't want any of you to leave me," she said.

"She's soft. Her hands and her personality and her everything. I guess wizards are kind of rough. Everyone says that, but I don't really know what other people are like," he said.

Lucy just adored all of her children, but she really did have a little bit of a soft spot for Yuri.

Who didn't want to squeeze him and kiss that handsome face?

Yuri blushed at his mother beaming at him like she was. "What is it?"

"I just love you, that's all."

"Love you too, Mom."

Shew threw the last ingredients into her pan and said, "You want to go for a walk with your sister? Your dad is uhhh…a little under the weather and he usually goes with her for a walk before dinner if Iggy's gone."

"That guy is gone all the time," her son answered.

"That guy has a lot of bills, and he's saving up so he can stay home after this job until after they're born. Twins can be born premature. Plus, Anna's going to need a lot more help at the end and right after they get here. Iggy is doing the best he can to take care of his little family. It'll be easier for you when you start your family. You're older, cheap with yourself, and good at saving money," his mother explained.

Yuri sheepishly grinned. "Thanks, I think."

And then, she asked, "Since Anna and Layla are gone, have you been trying to match your own clothes?"

"I asked Mavis to help."

"Uhhh…don't do that. Let Mama help you. You're colorblind and your sister was a living, breathing troll in her previous life. I'm sure she lived under a bridge and ate billy goats," she said.

Yuri scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "How bad is it?"

"You're wearing a pink shirt and green pants. The sad thing is you don't know how terrible that is."

He put on his coat so he could go outside. "Better?"

He was a vision of a young Laxus, and that only made her grin harder. "Perfect."

When he headed across the street to take his sister for her walk, he found his seven-months-pregnant sister trying to reorganize a closet. She was pushing a box up with a grunt of exertion when the box suddenly became weightless and went on the shelf.

"Two things: please lock your front door. And I know you're not supposed to be lifting anything," Yuri said as he pushed it up into place.

Anna rolled her eyes. "I'm pregnant, not sick."

"For a person who isn't sick, you puke a lot."

"That's not funny. You have no idea what it's like. And you're never going to know, because you're a guy. Men just have no business presuming about pregnant women. Just wait until Iggy gets home, he'll be running around like a chicken with his head cut off," she said.

Yuri stared at her with one brow raised slightly, wondering how she could just so matter-of-factly live when she had two whole people living inside of her. He was staring at her belly when it suddenly protruded on one side, and then shifted outward completely misshapen, and then stuck out somewhere else.

Anna put her hands on her belly and rubbed it. "Do you want to feel?"

He reached out and put his hands on her shirt, and felt pressure on the other side of his hand. "Was that a kick?"

"Probably a headbutt," she said.

Yuri smiled. "That's amazing. What does it feel like to you?"

"Like I swallowed a bucket of drunk, angry snakes."

He helped her put on her coat and shoes and they went out into the cold. Magnolia usually had reasonably chill winters, but this winter had been cold and there was even a little bit of snow on the ground.

As they walked he had his hands in his pockets and she had hers on her belly, rubbing it lovingly.

Anna held onto his arm when they got to the steps that led down to the Riverwalk, and then said, "Sorry to grab you. I can't see my feet. My babies are getting pretty big."

"I'm excited to meet them. My goal is to be favorite uncle. I only have to compete with Lex, and I figure I have an advantage since I can buy my nephews stuff all the time if I want," he said.

"Please don't spoil them. The grandparents are bad enough. Have your own babies, and then you'll see," she said.

Yuri shook his head. "I'm not quite ready for that. Being an uncle is enough for me for now. You're going to be a really good mom though. You're a lot like Mom. Iggy's a good guy too. I'm happy for you. The itty bitties are going to have a really good family. You'll let me know if you need anything, right? Anything at all."

"You'll always be my big brother, you know. I'm proud you're trying to match your own clothes lately. It'll get better."

He grimaced. "Why didn't anyone tell me? Mavis did it."

Anna said, "We thought you were trying to do it all by yourself."

A snowball hit him on the back of the head and Mavis ran to walk on Anna's other side. She'd sniffed out her siblings when she got off the train and felt this was an acceptable form of 'hello.'

Yuri scooped some snow off the ground and when he threw the snowball back, Mavis expertly ducked and he hit Anna squarely in the belly.

"Oh no! Are you okay?" he frantically asked.

Mavis pointed at him. "Monster! Attacking a pregnant woman."

"You're the monster, dressing our handsome brother like a clown!" Anna said, apparently unbothered by the snowball, "and if I could bend over far enough to reach the ground, I would bury you in snowballs! Just you wait until I get these babies out of me!"

Mavis shrugged. "I'm not worried. When you have your babies, you'll have even more mean little people to terrorize you."

Anna frowned. "Oh my God…you're right."

"The way I see it, there's a good chance one of them will take after me. I mean, you're probably hoping you have tall, nice boys like Yuri, but in reality, you could just have two little me's in there," she teased.

"You're terrible!" Anna exclaimed.

Mavis held up a bag. "…terrible, with a whole bag of your favorite chocolate pastries from that bakery in Shirotsume Town."

"Okay, I love you! You went all the way there from your job just for me?" she asked.

"You said you had a craving, right? Angry and hungry is bad combination for a mother. I had my suspicions, but I just came from the house, and Mom told me about the hamster."

"Lex's hamster?" Anna asked in confusion.

Yuri pulled on Mavis' ponytail when Anna wasn't looking. "You don't want to know."

Mavis retaliated by shocking him when Anna wasn't looking, and while the mother-to-be stopped by the rail to indulge in her pastries in the freezing cold (which actually felt quite nice since she was hot all the time), she was grateful for her loving family.

Of course, she knew they were electrocuting each other behind her back, but as long as she could eat and be happy, she didn't care in the least.

Anna was happy it was cold and the dragons weren't particularly bothered by it because they had more natural resistance to it. So they walked along the river, and Anna summoned Loke to throw snowballs at her sister while she ate.

Yuri was about to crown himself snowball king of the family when he was hit upside the head with one huge snowball lobbed by Layla.

"Layla?!"

His sister put her hands on her hips. "My husband is going to be at the border for a couple of weeks, and I was bored at the castle. I figured I'd come by and see what you guys were up to."

Yuri hugged her, and then Layla walked up to Anna with her arms out.

"Oh my God, Anna, my baby sister, you're enormous! You poor thing, what did that terrible man do to you?" she asked, shocked, and then laughing as she hugged her sister and squeezed her hands. "You're so big! Can I?"

Anna nodded.

Layla put her hands on her sister's belly. "Hello, baby boys! I can't wait to meet you! I'm going to be your favorite auntie!"

Mavis muttered, "Fat chance…"

"What? Did you just call me fat?"

Mavis glared. "I didn't, but now that you mention it, you're bigger than I remember."

"I didn't get bigger, you just became a smaller, more insufferable little ant!" Layla answered.

So Mavis grew to over thirty feet tall using Titan Magic. "Who's an ant now?"

Anna sighed and looked at Yuri. "Well, that got weird. Let's go get Lex. I bet Mom and Dad would like to have everyone at home for dinner. We should buy some more food too. Mom's probably not expecting a full house."

So when Laxus finally came down to eat dinner, he found his entire family was home and gathered around the table, sans boyfriends and girlfriends.

It had been _so long_ since they were all together around the table, just the family, that he and Lucy felt very happy. The dinner was like medicine for them as parents whose kids were starting to live their own lives. Of course, Iggy and Sam were technically family, and Iggy was around often, but as parents they still needed to have just their kids together sometimes.

While they wouldn't admit it, the parents were so glad their children still wanted to be that close, and that they saw the importance of being able to still spend time together with the family. Lex was excited to have all his siblings together too, even if they spent part of the time teasing him about all the girls he'd prefer to spend his life hiding from.

With all of them together, the parents could see that their children were all happy.

Yuri was excited about his future, Layla was a blissfully happy young wife, and Anna had so much excitement in her life it made everyone else in the family excited. Then there was Mavis, and they were happy to have one like her. She was not in a hurry to get married and still refused to acknowledge Baby Orga as her boyfriend despite having entertained his affections since before she was even a teenager.

Lex was always a happy kid, although he was extra excited about his hamster babies and no one gave him the cold hard truth about angry animal mothers.

Layla said, "Lex, Princess Hikari wants you to come to her birthday party."

"No, thanks."

His answer was quick, and simple. He'd learned this was the path to least destruction when it came to girls but that doom was generally unavoidable.

Lucy answered, "She's a nice girl."

"Jane isn't," he answered.

Laxus found Lex was wise beyond his years for understanding that if he went to the Princess' birthday, he'd have hell to pay with Jane Dragneel and probably her Fullbuster rival as well. Worst case scenario, they would team up and punish him for daring to have fun with another girl.

Layla teased, "You better be nice. The Princess might have you put in the dungeon."

From Lex's point of view, the world was ruled by powerful women who would get him if he did the wrong thing. There was his mom, all of his sisters, then the girls at the guild, some girls in his class who liked to bicker over who got to pet his hair or play with him, and now the princess too. It was always a woman standing between him and trouble.

Laxus decided to try and offer him a little encouragement. "Or, maybe you could be King of Fiore."

Lucy thought about that and her head tilted sideways. "That's kind of scary…"

"It is…I take that back. To the dungeon with you, little dragon," Laxus said.

Lex despondently sighed. "Okay…"

Laxus briefly reflected on how many people in the Magic Council would shit bricks if a Dreyar become the supreme ruler of the country, and that made him happy. And, when he looked across the table, he saw his daughter Layla had a ticket on the same train of thought and was equally amused.

They looked up and smirked at one another.

Anna's babies decided to become excessively lively in the middle of the meal, and Layla turned her attention to her sister's belly.

"This makes me want to go home and get pregnant right now," she gleefully said.

Then she looked up and found her father and both of her brothers appeared slightly disgusted and not at all amused by this comment. Her mother had stars in her eyes, which was actually a little creepy.

Mavis said, "It makes me take double-doses of birth control."

"I don't think that's healthy. Please don't do that," her mother said.

After dinner, and dessert, and sitting around the table for what felt like a lifetime, the kids eventually scattered, except for Layla, who stayed with her parents after everyone else had gone on to bed.

She washed dishes, handing them off to her father while her mother sat at the table with a glass of wine.

Lucy said, "Layla, you want a glass?"

"Sure."

Laxus scowled, "…are you pregnant? It's okay if you are. You're married. You don't have to pretend. Drinking is no good if you have a baby on the way."

Layla stared at him, blankly.

Lucy laughed.

His daughter asked, "Dad, why do you think that I'm pregnant?"

"You're glowing. You've gained weight. You're excited about babies."

Layla's fake eye started to glow, which was generally a sign the world was about to be subjected to her wrath. By that point, it was a subconscious reflex and one of the best indicators of exactly how angry the little blonde could get.

"I don't have a baby, just a bad habit of eating in bed with my husband. Sam eats all the time. He's like a gigantic human garbage disposal. I eat nothing compared to him, but who puts on the weight? Me. Don't worry. I have a handle on this, and I am going to be back to my sexy, slim self in no time," she said, taking a sip from the glass her mother offered.

Lucy answered, "Layla, I hate to break it to you, but you will probably never weight as little as you did on the day you got married. From here on out, you're going to be with an overeating monster who tempts you constantly. Assuming you're able to fight that off, then he gets you pregnant and your fate is sealed. And even if you keep it off by the numbers, your tummy is doomed."

"I'm not going to be a fat mom. I'll just have a cute little baby bump, and I'll lose it right away. No stretch marks or gross stuff," she argued.

Her mother took another sip of her wine. "That's exactly how it works."

Her husband asked, "Why are you lying to our child?"

"Because I want more itty bitties!"

Laxus asked, "Do you prefer drinking when they're all here?"

"Yes, it's more fun that way," his wife answered.

He decided to leave her wife to her wine and her oldest daughter. It seemed like they really just wanted to stay up drinking and talking about their husbands anyway, which made him an unwanted party to the conversation. Since he felt it was probably important for Lucy to impart advice into her as a newly married young woman living far from home, he went on to his study.

When drunk mother and daughter finally finished whispering and giggling, Layla headed upstairs with her bag, went to her old room, and found it totally empty. The walls were bare, and had been painted bright colors.

"What…WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ROOM?"

Lucy shrugged. "Girl, you ran off and got married, so we got rid of your room. Sorry, but anyway, it wasn't like we could keep it as a shrine forever. You've moved on with your life. Your extra clothes are in the attic, but I don't think you'll be able to wear them again ever. Anna's old room is our guest room where you can sleep, and your old room is going to be where the itty bitties stay with us when their parents are on jobs. Anna and Iggy like to work together, so we agreed to help them continue to do that when Anna's able to work again."

Layla was absolutely _flabbergasted_ that her parents got rid of her room and as she looked around the empty space, she realized her parents had effectively eliminated a big part of her childhood. Anna's room was completely different too.

It was a sign her parents were really getting over the fact they were growing up. She also felt it was somewhat of a warning to the others, that if they left the nest, their place would be erased by the nest keepers and made into something else.

Lucy gave her some sheets from the closet and asked, "If there are five trees in the forest, and two of them get married, does the forest stop being happy? No, it doesn't."

"Mom, you're so drunk. Go to bed."

Mom and Dad went to bed happy, and slept snuggled up in contentment, except for occasional unconscious wine burps that made Laxus' nose twitch. Forty-something Lucy was glorious and quite a sight to behold at any point, but she was exceptionally interesting when somewhat or completely inebriated. He adored her more at her current age than when she was younger just because she'd had a lot of time to grow and develop an extremely interesting personality.

So when she burped the sharp scent of chardonnay into his mouth, he kissed her forehead and went right back to sleep.

The next day, Laxus was in his office at the guild when he had a somewhat unexpected visitor, the elder Orga. Since Orga was several years older than Laxus, he was quite old for a wizard still going on big jobs. Usually by age fifty a wizard's body was busted up enough retirement was nearly mandatory, but most people who ended up at that level had s-class fortune built up.

Such was the case of Orga Nanagear, Sr.

"Man, your hair really did all turn white," he said, still sporting a head of vibrant green hair.

Laxus' hair had been silver for years already, thanks to premature graying he ultimately hadn't given enough of a shit about. As long as it stayed thick and shiny he didn't mind the whitish-silver color.

"Too bad you can't age out of being a turd."

"Very mature," Orga said.

They didn't actually get to talk about the reason for the visit before they started threatening and bickering like twenty-something rivals. This culminated with a battle behind the guild that was glorious in every way except when Jane Dragneel shouted, "Look, two old guys are fighting and neither is using a cane!"

The fight ended on the shore next to the lake, where they'd punched each other considerably far from the guild in a testosterone-fueled scrap that made them both feel suitably young.

Orga dusted himself off. "I'm counting that as a win."

"Like hell you are."

"You want to go at it again?"

…

And so they did.

When Laxus was satisfied with his victory, Orga huffed, "You really are a huge asshole."

"What did you want, anyway? Your presence is almost unwelcome as your boy spawn's."

Orga sighed in concern. "That's what I'm here about. You know my kid is out of his mind crazy about your girl. Baby Orga just can't deal without Mavis. Since he first saw her he's just been stuck, and that's all he wants."

"Right."

"But they're getting older. Coming and going from long-distance isn't going to be good enough forever. They're from different guilds, Laxus. One of them has to move, or they need to break up," he said.

This question had been in the air for years:

If they stayed together, where would they end up?

They were both strong wizards with great faith and reputation within their respective guilds. More importantly, they had their own families in their own cities.

Laxus said, "Mavis will never leave."

"Women leave home to be with men. That's just what happens," Orga argued.

"Not Mavis. Mavis is a different kind of person. She'll never leave Magnolia."

Orga said, "They've already talked about it. Had fights about it. Cried about it."

Mavis didn't really discuss the nuts and bolts of her relationship much. It wasn't that she didn't trust her parents or siblings; it just wasn't like her to talk much about it. And maybe she hadn't told them about this conflict because one possible result was her leaving Magnolia permanently.

It was hard for her to admit she liked Baby Orga to others, but her parents knew they'd been intimate for a while. He assumed even a tough girl like her had some soft moments with him mixed in here and there, but that side of Mavis was mostly hidden, even from them.

Laxus' expression soured quite a bit as he sat down on a big rock. "So what? You're here to convince me to help encourage my kid to up and leave me? That's not something I'll ever do."

"Relax, I know you've got your head that far up your ass. Mavis is a good kid. I like her for my son, because he really needs someone who can slap him upside the head when he's being an idiot, but my son—because he's an idiot—he doesn't want to leave Sabertooth. It's not really guild loyalty. He refuses to leave me by myself because we don't have any other family on the mainland," he explained.

Baby Orga was well-liked by Laxus and Lucy, but as a father, he was still very agitated by this entire situation.

Orga said, "So I figure, we don't do anything. My son stays at Sabertooth, and eventually Mavis runs off to be with him, but isn't ever really that happy. I don't really want that on me."

Laxus looked up and wanted to vehemently protest, but he really didn't know that it wouldn't play out like that. He often feared it, and knew eventually there would be a point where she would have to follow her strange little heart, however it leaned most strongly. Mavis was really the most emotionally needy person in their family and hated to be apart from the family, so leaving Magnolia would have been absolutely traumatic for her.

"I don't want Mavis to get too far from our family. She never really got over being the baby of the family, even after Lex came along, and I don't think she'd do well away from us," Laxus asked.

Orga said, "I agree."

"You want them to break up?"

"That would hurt both of them. My son really wants what he wants."

Laxus asked, "So what do you suggest?"

"Magnolia's a good place to retire too, outside of having a high population of assholes," Orga answered.

The two aging lightning wizards glared at one another now that the suggestion was made. There was really nobody Laxus felt more motivated to clobber on sight than Orga, so it was hard to imagine that they'd continue getting old in the same city and probably inevitably continue their violent rivalry well into their older years.

Then again, Orga was offering to fall on the sword so his son and Mavis could continue their relationship. He was quite fond of Mavis, and like his son had never questioned her assorted peculiarities.

Orga said, "I just have my son, so we can move here, and he can join your guild. Then he and Mavis can continue their thing. If they're successful and get married or move in, and maybe eventually have a little family, I'd be able to help them."

Laxus found this discussion had suddenly become unfathomably depressing. "You want to get old with your grandkids. We're so fucking old."

"Right? I've aged out of my prime. All I've got is my son and he's in love with this mad little dragon."

With a sigh, Laxus said, "we're too old to act like this. But I'll be an asshole until I die and so will you. Whoever dies first loses."

"Orga said there's a house for sale in your neighborhood. Pink. We'll uhhh…repaint."

Laxus knew this house well, because it was immediately next door to his. His neighbor hated magic and had often been the victim of circumstance.

In the past month:

Lex inadvertently emitted some sort of noxious fumes that killed all the plants in his yard, Crash went through his back wall while they were wrestling, Mavis used his metal roof to attract lightning during a storm, Virgo got confused about instructions of some sort and dug six foot holes all over their side of the block, Petri successfully seduced and slept with his daughter after using earth magic to fix the holes in the house and the yard, and then Anna's pregnancy magic caused her to sneeze fire and set his mailbox on fire, which in turn set the dried, dead lawn on fire.

The 'For Sale' sign had gone up the next day after eighteen years of resistance.

In fact, with Iggy and Anna moving across the street, everyone else was trying to move. Nobody wanted to move onto the street with Dragneels and Dreyars, so it was nearly impossible to sell property on their block by that point even though everyone was trying.

On one hand, Orga moving into his immediate vicinity meant that he'd see his rival and fight daily, then get yelled at by his wife, and probably not have sex as often. On the other hand, it meant he might be one step closer to keeping Mavis where he could look after her.

If he could have Orga next door or Mavis in another town bearing the mark of another guild…

He really didn't know why his daughters had to pick the sons of people that he found genuinely annoying. But Baby Orga seemed like a nearly inevitable future, and if Big Orga was going to have to make concessions, so did he.

Besides, Laxus suspected that even if it was hard for Mavis to admit, being able to actively pursue a serious relationship with Baby Orga like a normal couple would make her happy. He didn't suspect she'd be interested in marriage or anything for a long time, but after seeing how happy Anna and Layla were, he wanted her to have the opportunity to have that joy someday when she was ready.

"Well, we have a large population of assholes, so what's one more?"

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	65. The Itty Bitties

And then:

After twenty-four years of marriage, five kids, and more happiness than either could have fully described, they became grandparents.

The Itty Bitties were born at the same hospital their mother was born at after a forty-hour labor and delivery while their grandparents and aunts and uncles anxiously awaited their arrival in the waiting room.

Lucy didn't want her daughter and her husband to lose out on being able to spend those precious few first moments alone with their little ones to marvel over first breaths, first yawns, first cries, and so forth because of the distractions of their large family so she advised her daughter to take some time with her husband after they were born to enjoy those things.

So by the time both sets of grandparents met the little boys, the youngest was already an hour old.

Iggy and Anna were snuggled up close in the tiny hospital bed, each holding a tightly swaddled little blond-headed baby boy. They looked tired, deliriously happy, and were glowing as they basked in the wonder of being new parents. Anna was leaning on his shoulder, smiling happily.

Lucy leaned down and whispered, "Hello, Itty Bitties! I'm so happy to finally meet you. And oh, are you two handsome! What are their names?"

Anna looked down at the baby in her arms. "Well, we decided we wanted to give them names that really mattered. So this is Hadyn, he's the oldest, and that is Taryn."

"Fire and Thunder," Lucy said.

She nodded.

Unlike Anna and Mavis, the baby boys looked so much alike it was difficult to tell them apart just from watching them sleep. Both had light blond hair with the telltale Dreyar tuft in front that grew straight up. Their chubby little baby faces were similar, and they seemed to be exactly the same size. They both had sharply pointed ears, like Mavis and Ivan.

They were very big for twins, which explained why Anna had been almost comically huge, although she hadn't appreciated the comedy as much as everyone else did.

Lisanna said, "Hadyn and Taryn Dragneel. Good names for such beautiful babies. They look like little Laxuses, don't you think?"

When she looked up at Natsu, her husband seemed perplexed.

Natsu wondered how his son make babies that looked like _Laxus_. And why did his wife think the babies were beautiful if they looked like him? Was this an admission from Lisanna that she found Laxus attractive? Natsu was sure his head would explode if he explored this topic any further.

Yet, they were just breathtakingly wonderful little creatures, even if they had Dreyar hair and Dreyar eyes flanked by all those thick dark lashes.

Lucy asked, "So, how are we going to tell these two apart?"

Natsu said, "By scent, obviously."

Lisanna sweetly answered, "And for those of us that aren't part monster?"

One of the babies started to cry, which made the other one cry, and while they were both screaming, the grandparents got saw Taryn had blue eyes and Hadyn had jade green eyes.

Laxus didn't really know what to say because seeing his daughter as a mother had some profound impact on him that he wasn't expecting. She looked beautiful and so happy, and like any parent, his most important wish for his babies was that they find happiness.

Maybe the pregnancy had been unplanned, but by that point, it was barely remembered and seemed irrelevant. Anna had, from the moment she found out she was going to be a mother herself, embarked on a difficult and life-changing adventure that had finally come to this moment where she was finally able to hold her own babies and show them the same love he and Lucy had given her.

It made his eyes wet, and his daughter looked up and caught him gazing at her like this.

"Hi, Daddy."

"Hey there, Mom. You've got a beautiful little family, you know," he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

Anna smiled a little wider. "I'm going to hope you're saying that because you love us, and not because they look like you."

"Well, how else were they going to be cute?" he asked.

"I don't know. Narcissism certainly isn't cute," Anna replied.

Lucy elbowed him and pushed him out of the way. "May I?"

Anna nodded, and Lucy and Lisanna gently took babies from their respective children.

The twins had to tolerate another round of ceremonial counting of fingers and toes, and big people awwwing over them.

"You can tell they just ate. Dragon boys are all the same. Fill belly, achieve coma. One of the things they never really grow out of," Lisanna said.

When Lucy and Anna giggled, the dragons in the room, all male, realized the women were making fun of them as if it wasn't normal to want to eat way too much food and then fall asleep immediately thereafter.

Lucy beamed at her little grandson when he yawned. "Oh, these guys are just too cute. You guys made some gorgeous, healthy babies. I hope you have at least ten right now."

"I will kill him if he ever touches me again," Anna matter-of-factly replied.

Iggy sheepishly shrugged. "Sorry…?"

"Haryn was breech. It was awful—do you realize how much bigger his bottom is than his head?" Anna asked.

Her mother cringed at the idea and tried to find some comforting thing to say. "Well, he's a dragon, so it shouldn't be a surprise he was in a hurry to be first and then came out backwards. That's pretty much how dragons do everything. Butt first, think later."

Another giggle was shared amongst the women.

"You're a bunch of bullies. This is probably why dragons used to eat people," Natsu huffed.

Laxus put his hands out, and Lucy initially denied him because she wasn't finished snuggling little Hadyn, but she knew her husband loved babies and had been waiting for this day as much as she had. Besides, her little heart melted a bit at the sight when Laxus held their little grandson.

Up close, Laxus could see a lot more of Lucy in the baby's face. Her nose, lips. Anna bore the strongest resemblance to her mother and had inherited her hair, her face, and even her magic. The only bit of himself he saw in Anna was in her eyes and the fact she was very tall for a grown woman.

Maybe there was some Lisanna too—babies had such chubby little faces it was hard to tell until they were three or four and their faces started to shrink down a bit. He was looking forward to that, and could only imagine what kinds of mischief they'd be into by then.

Their magic seemed quite active, which was a sharp contrast to Lex, whose magic was almost completely dormant until the first time he consumed anything toxic, at which point his dragon features had suddenly appeared.

Then again, heat and electrical pulses are natural things that occur in a human body.

After the grandparents had a long time with the babies, the family at large was invited in, which was as chaotic as anyone expected. Since the older Dreyars knew Lex as a newborn, they were quite capable of handling a newborn properly, but then the issue was that there was a lot of them, and only two babies.

"How could you only have two babies? You know you have a big family," Mavis complained.

Anna answered, "If you want a baby to hold, go make one. I'm sure Baby Orga would be happy to help you out with that."

Mavis blushed furiously at this comment, but then said, "That's okay. I don't want to get fat. I'll leave that to you."

Laxus said, "Twins get less and less cute as they get older."

The newborns were very tolerant of being passed around and snuggled, looked at, and so forth, but when they were done with that, they were very done and they let everyone know they wanted to be left alone.

Grandparents took their other kids home as not to crowd the new family, and over the next couple of days, there were multiple visits to the hospital, which insisted on keeping the twins a little longer because one of them had a fever so high it was almost unbelievable that he was not only alive, but perfectly fine.

Iggy and Jane were born with this same problem, but the twins were able to come home on their third day. Visitors came and went, from the guild, from the family, from among their school friends, until Anna effectively activated Momzilla mode and uninvited people outside of the immediate family from coming over.

With fussy newborns, frequent breastfeeding, sparse sleep, and the fact that the new mother was still recovering from giving birth, they just weren't in the mood to have a lot of foot traffic in and out of the house. Plus, they were enjoying being a little family together.

The new grandparents tried to give them space, but Laxus found himself waking up throughout the night like he was the one with a newborn. He would check the window, and notice the lights on, and then repeat. By their third night home, he was sure they weren't sleeping at all.

He put on his shoes and walked across the street, knocking on the door softly. Standing at the door, he could already hear little fussy baby sounds. They got closer, and Iggy opened the door with saggy eyelids and little red eyes and dark circles that made him look like he was at least thirty-five.

Iggy was barefoot, in his boxers, while he held blue-eyed Taryn, who had been quite difficult.

Laxus came in and could see they were having a typical new twin experience: there were dishes piled up in the sink, a breast pump on the kitchen counter, a bassinet had appeared in the living room probably as part of a divide-and-conquer sleep strategy, and the couch was piled up with unfolded laundry.

"I'm trying to let Anna rest for a little bit. She seems so tired. Maybe it's because she's feeding them?" he said.

"Probably. I assume these little rascals eat a lot," Laxus answered, taking the newborn from him.

He rubbed the baby's back for just a minute and he immediately went to sleep drooling on his grandfather's shoulder, which just exasperated Iggy more because he hadn't learned all the necessary tricks to coax his sons into sleeping.

Laxus said, "How about you let us take these guys for the night and you two can sleep?"

"We don't need help. We're managing," he defensively said. Even if they were so tired he felt a little crazy, he couldn't admit that to his father-in-law. Of all the people in the world, he had to keep it together in front of Laxus so he knew his daughter was in good hands.

Laxus had an understanding that Iggy was still trying to prove himself, but he was truthfully long past that.

It seemed like the natural order of things that he was supposed to hate his son-in-law, but he actually felt the opposite. Iggy was actually shaping up to be a really good husband and father and he took good care of Anna. He'd worked hard enough and grown up fast enough along with Anna that it was hard to tell they'd put their future on the fast track due to the twins. He made sure that for the time being, all Anna had to concern herself with was their little sons, which was a big enough task.

"Igg, you look like shit, and like you really just need to sleep and newborns are inconsiderate, especially if you have more than one at a time," he said as he made his way to the nursery and put the baby in bed with his sleeping brother.

Iggy finally gave in after a few more minutes of persuasion, tempted by the idea of sleeping several hours in a row, which seemed so unfamiliar, strange, and dreamlike in his current state of exhaustion. Plus, if he let the babies go with their grandparents, Anna wouldn't wake up to their cries and could get much needed deep sleep, something their sons had denied them thus far.

Laxus threw the things he needed into a bag, including milk from the refrigerator, diapers, little clothes, and diapers. Then he put one baby in a carrier and held the other against his shoulder as he made his way across the street. He turned when the lights finally went out at the Dragneel house and Iggy crawled into bed with his wife to pass out happily.

He carried them all the way up to his bedroom and opened the door quietly.

Lucy mumbled in the dark, "Honey…what are you doing?"

"I have babies."

The light flipped on and she jumped out of bed. "Oh, I knew you were good for something! Itty Bitties! Have you finally driven your parents mad from exhaustion?"

One started screaming, then the other, but Lucy was quite delighted by this development as she'd been trying to kidnap her grandsons from their eager, overprotective parents since they'd come home.

The phenomenon was not fully understood, but every baby dragon screamed and cried a lot more than an ordinary baby might. They growled, they ate three times more than expected, and they were generally upset with everything until they were a couple of months old although it was especially bad in the beginning.

Lucy couldn't imagine having more than one at a time. With Anna and Mavis, Mavis had been a handful, but Anna was the chilliest baby they'd had. She was born with the ability to ignore her twin, a skill she likely picked up while still in the womb.

After feeding and changing them and snuggling them, if they wanted to scream, the veteran parents had no objections, but weren't going to panic about it either.

Lucy swaddled Taryn and Hadyn tightly and put them between her and Laxus in the bed, and then just laid there and watched them fuss.

"You guys can yell all you want. No one is better at ignoring noisy dragons than me. I've been doing It for over have of my life now, and trust me, I know some dragons that are a lot more annoying than you guys are. And less cute, my little pointy-eared devils," she said, giving each of them a kiss on the forehead.

Laxus looked down at them. "They are handsome, aren't they?"

"They are, but they seem like a handful. Being grandparents is awesome. We get baby snuggles now, and then the rest of the time, these guys are screaming at their parents," she said.

And scream they did.

They even kept their experienced grandparents up almost the entire night, making assorted demands for snuggles, food, peace, quiet, the right to yell for no reason at all, etc., but eventually fell into a peaceful sleep in the crib they'd put in Layla's old room shortly before dawn. Of course, not before spitting up on their Gams, drooling on their Grams, and treating them to other 'joys' of newborn care.

In the morning, Lucy came down to make breakfast for her family and felt a little relieved that she and Laxus only had to miss one night of sleep. She had a plan to get the Dragneels across the street to come over for breakfast and then send Virgo over to address the laundry mountain and the dishes. That way, they could start the day off with a full night's sleep, a clean house, and a good meal.

While she was getting her ingredients together, Sam and Layla arrived, with a couple of bags and one big gift bag. Lucy hadn't seen her daughter in a while, so she was so happy just for the chance to be around her again. Layla living in Crocus was a lot harder than Anna living across the street for the most obvious reasons.

Sam's enlistment period was almost over, so she was anxiously awaiting their return to Magnolia.

Her son-in-law was holding all their bags and after Layla squeezed her mother tightly, he gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"My daughter and my son-in-law! I've missed you guys!"

Her scent drew down the rest of the family: Mavis, Yuri, and their father.

Lucy wondered if maybe Lisanna was right and they really were half monster. She often wondered how they experienced the world with their noses and sharp hearing and unusual instincts. A houseful of dragons was definitely a houseful of weirdos, that much had always been clear.

Layla excitedly said, "How are the babies?"

"They're good. Sleeping upstairs. We took them for the night so their parents could sleep. They're not to be disturbed for now," her father warned.

"But—"

"But nothing. The little monsters are sleeping, and they're going to stay that way," he added.

Layla sighed and sat at the table with her husband, who whispered something in her ear that made her scowl and punch him in the arm. Then the others joined them and Lucy realized she needed a bigger dinner table, and that made her quite happy.

This was her first time to see Sam and Layla interact as married couple, and she found they reminded her of her and Laxus. Iggy and Anna were very sweet and gentle with each other, but Sam liked to bother Layla and she liked to be a big brat, so while they were sitting at the table, he annoyed his wife and she fussed at him. Then three seconds later, he was tickling her and she was giggling and telling him how adorable he was.

When Lucy watched them, she knew they'd probably been doing this non-stop since the day they got married and were quite happy about it.

Lucy said, "You need to get Sam an Orga, Layla. Ever since Orga moved in next door, your father can escape his middle-age boredom by bothering him. And every bit of energy he wastes fighting with the neighbor is a little less he has to get on my nerves. It's the best thing."

This was true. Laxus had initially feared constantly fighting with Orga would cause his wife to be constantly angry, but she couldn't have been happier.

Orga was actually the perfect neighbor, although Lucy was a little embarrassed when he first moved in and young Fairy Tail wizards started showing up at his house to challenge him in battle. He didn't mind scrapping with them, which gave them another source of training, and he was pretty patient about being ambushed in the middle of town by ambitious fairies. Plus, he would keep an eye on Lex and Crash when they were playing outside sometimes or when Lex came in after school and all the adults were at work or otherwise gone.

The elder Orga loved his son, and he loved crazy little Mavis. He also liked cooking and was using his retirement to sharpen his chef skills, so Lucy occasionally strayed over to his house to sample his offerings, which never failed to piss off her terrible cook of a husband. She knew Orga teased her husband about his wife slipping over to his house when he wasn't looking, and she did not care as long as she got artichoke-stuffed lobster out of it.

(Laxus referred to this as her 'food affair.')

Layla said, "Sam already has one of those. His name is Iggy."

"Oh, that's right. You've been gone so long, I forgot how you two used to be. I'm sure Iggy will love having his rival friend back, but he's going to be pretty busy with his sons for a while. They're very adorable, but very high maintenance," Lucy answered.

Sam said, "You might want to make a little extra for Layla."

Laxus looked up over his newspaper. "Eating for two? I'm almost scared to ask, after what happened last time."

Layla answered, "Then don't. No, I'm not pregnant! I lost all that stupid weight and Sam wants my butt to be big and jiggly again!"

Her father scowled at his daughter, at his son-in-law, at his wife, at his newspaper, and then at his coffee before his face softened and he realized the coffee hadn't upset him yet. He took a big gulp and then replied, "That is more information than I need. 'No' would have been sufficient."

Laxus wanted to make a comment to Sam about bothering his daughter, but he'd tried to keep his wife big every time she had a baby because he liked it. It was annoying and gross to know Sam had similar urges toward Layla, because he understood them fully and knew it was extremely sexual and dirty.

Sam smirked and whispered in her ear again.

And Laxus took a deep breath. "I can hear you."

Layla rolled her eyes and pushed him. "Why did I marry this idiot?"

Yuri said, "I thought you knew. Everyone else was kind of confused and shocked."

"Why aren't you married? At this rate, you're even Lex is going to move out before you," Layla answered.

Yuri sighed. "That's okay. I'm happy going nice and slow like a normal person."

"I'm not going anywhere. It's pretty sweet living here now that the strange people have moved out," Mavis added.

Lucy found her youngest son seemed to be in a deep state of thought, as if he was thinking extremely hard about something. She wondered if it was his plot to avoid girl wrath for the day, or about homework, or about scrapping with his older siblings.

Finally she brushed her hand through his hair. "My sweet Lexy, what's on your mind, son?"

"Pancakes," Lex answered in a tone that was very serious.

His mother squeezed him tighter. "I will make you pancakes every day for the rest of your life if you stay little and cute."

Iggy and Anna appeared halfway through breakfast, looking well-rested and quite grateful.

As planned, Lucy summoned Virgo from the hallway so Anna and Iggy wouldn't see, and then sent her over to their house to tidy it up. Then she witnessed firsthand the first signs of baby-brain which left the young parents apparently very happy to interact with other adults.

Once the meal was over, they sat around with coffee talking about the twins, about Sam and Layla, slight hints that Yuri might eventually be engaged, teasing Mavis because she'd finally acknowledged Baby Orga as her boyfriend now that he lived next door, and taunting Lex over his little harem problems.

A little cry let them know one of the twins had awoken and their parents went upstairs to tend to them.

After feeding, burping, and listening to their complaints about being without their mother for several hours, they finally brought the twins down for Layla and Sam to meet.

Iggy was obviously a very proud papa when he showed off his newborn sons to his friend. "These are my boys, Taryn and Hadyn. And Anna's a mom now, how cool is that?"

Sam lowered his voice as he looked down at Taryn. "Hey, your boys look like the old man."

Iggy whispered, "I know! My dad asked me if I was trying hard enough. I don't know what that means."

Anna and Layla took a moment from doting on Hadyn to glare at them, and Layla said, "Sam, our father is your father-in-law, not 'the old man.'"

Sam shrugged. "This is guy talk. No wives allowed. Especially not ours."

Iggy said, "You're crazy, man. Layla's going to turn you into a lizard or something."

"Lizard? Please. If Sam goes poof, keep an eye out for an iron cockroach," Layla replied.

Anna answered, "Baby, they're both crazy. Sam and Layla can only be happy when they combine their crazy. "

Layla gently took Taryn from her, and cradled him gently. "Oh, he does look like Daddy! And yet he's so cute. These guys are just so adorable!

Laxus took another sip of his coffee, wondering if they just assumed his dragon hearing had been dampened by old age.

Iggy looked up to Sam and asked, "You want to hold my son?"

"I've got a metal arm. I think it would be uncomfortable. They're squishy, right? He looks squishy."

Anna said, "You can hold him against your shoulder. I think they like being in that position best anyway." She helped him get Hadyn positioned with Sam. "There you go. See, he likes you."

"How can you tell?" Sam asked.

"He's not screaming like a banshee and fire isn't coming out of his nose. That's not the easiest thing to explain to the nurses, you know," she said.

Anna was satisfied with having given them each a baby to snuggle, and tugged her husband's hand. "We're just going to go get some more breakfast."

This left Sam and Layla alone in the living room, with babies.

They watched the babies, and each other, which left them both feeling a little shy. As married adults who had discussed family planning, it was hard not to get a certain idea when one's spouse looked so cute holding a little newborn.

Sam turned to sniff the baby, and felt his hair and his soft skin. "This is pretty awesome, don't you think?"

"Two healthy, handsome baby boys…Iggy and Anna really do have a wonderful life. I'm really happy for my sister. She's always been the sweetest and most caring person, so I know she's going to just be the best mom," Layla said.

He smiled at her. "You know, you look awfully cute with a baby. You'd be a good mom."

Layla smiled back at him. "You too. I don't think a baby would really mind your arm. Babies love their parents. I think the longer I stay away from home, the more I miss my parents."

"Me too. I'm going to head out in a minute and visit them."

Layla watched him lean his head to snuggle the baby a little closer, and looked down at the baby in her arms. "It's weird being a grownup. Anna and I were just kids, and now she has babies."

Sam's expression warmed and he found himself turning a little pink in the cheeks.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Guess!" he teased.

Layla answered, "Don't give me that look. There's a big difference between wanting a baby and what you want. Creepy pervert."

"Aww, don't be like that, sweetie. Wanting to get your woman pregnant is a very basic and normal part of male instinct."

The blonde leered at her husband.

Sam leaned in and nuzzled her cheek. "Besides, I want a son."

"Why are you telling me that?"

"Well, if you're not going to give me one, should I start asking around?"

The rage in her eyes got a little hotter. "I'll kill you, Sam Redfox."

Sam grinned. "So it's settled."

Layla continued glaring at him. "How is that settled? You're only saying that because Iggy has sons and now you think you need one."

"No, I need three, so that I have more than he does. I wonder if I could get you triple pregnant…Is there some kind of potion or something?"

This was a demonstration of one undeniable fact that she'd observed her entire life:

Dragons were inescapably _absurd_ creatures, but what made their nonsense dangerous was that they had no problem following through. Sam and Iggy were friends and rivals, and Iggy had two beautiful baby boys and Sam had none. Two male dragons together suffered from some compounded form of this problem.

Another thing she knew was that the best way to deal with Sam was to simply ignore him. Her ovaries were practically twitching with glee at the sight of him snuggling and loving on the newborn, but she refused to play his games.

Sam playfully added, "And you have to promise me if I put a kid in you that he won't come out looking like your old man."

"Sam, can you just enjoy the babies? They're so adorable and you're so…not."

She _did_ want a little raven-haired boy to squeeze, or a little girl—sometimes she hoped to have a whole army of little girls so she could train them and unleash them into the world. She knew her husband was just trying to talk her into letting him get her pregnant, in part because he desperately wanted to have a family and in part because he wanted to see her butt get huge.

Sam was actually well-educated by the military, and was quite brilliant and known for being well-organized and disciplined. But around Layla, he defaulted to chaos, starting from the moment she crashed back into his world and into his bed. From that moment on, he was just going with what felt good, and she felt really good.

Iggy and Anna eventually came to get their babies, and Anna found herself hoping that Layla and Sam would join them on the parenthood adventure. Growing up as close sisters, they'd shared so much, and she wanted to share some of her motherhood experiences with her too.

So when Lilia came to visit the twins at their house later on, Anna made sure they were changed, properly burped, and dressed up extra cute. They were quite handsome little blond-haired boys with jewel-toned eyes and chubby little faces, and she was happy to see Lilia and Yuri sit together in their living room with the babies.

Was the equation for convincing someone to have a baby: get happy couple together, insert adorable newborns? She hoped so! Then, Anna wondered if she was already turning into her mother, who had already mentioned babies to her oldest two children.

Yuri and Lilia had been frequent babysitters of Lex as a baby, so they were both well-practiced with newborns. He was comfortable with kids, being the oldest, and laid Hadyn on his lap so he could play with the baby's little hands and tummy.

Lilia cradled blue-eyed Taryn, who was drowsy because he'd spent most of the afternoon yelling. "Anna and Iggy are really happy, aren't they? They're good together. They made the whole 'young love' thing work."

Yuri smiled a little bit. "I'm glad it's like this. It's nice, getting to know you as an adult. We both changed a lot. I think it's good to come together as independent adults who want to be together than young people who feel like they just need each other. I mean, I do need you, it's just different. We're a lot more mature now."

It was a very different scenario than Iggy and Anna, but then again different people created different relationships with different outcomes.

Lilia asked, "I'm not mad, I'm just curious. I have a question."

"…uh-oh…about what?" he nervously asked.

"There's a little clip in Sorcerer Gossip that says you slept with Miss Fiore. And the runner-up. At the same time not that long before we got back together," she said.

Yuri looked down at his nephew, praying maybe he'd cry or do something really cute to distract her, but he seemed pretty chill at the moment. "Well…"

"Yuri!"

Yuri really had no game at all and his success with women was due to several factors that he didn't deliberately activate: he was handsome, he was successful, he was very sweet, and he was adorably awkward. Without very much effort, he'd found himself in countless positions where a woman felt possessed by the need to do things to him, and he'd been programmed since birth to just sort of let women do what they wanted. Plus, it felt good and he had fun.

In this case, he happened to be in Crocus during the Miss Fiore competition and Petri mentioned it was his birthday during the alcohol-soaked after party. The next thing he knew, he was in a penthouse apartment with two of the most attractive women in the country and they were giggling and taking his pants off.

The gossip article mentioned one of his peculiar habits—saying 'please' and 'thank you' during sexual activities, his insatiable stamina, and how good he really was in bed. He'd also made them a nice breakfast in the morning and took care of them during their hangover, which made him seem like the nicest guy to have a one nighter with.

Yuri was terrified that the article would somehow fall into his mother's hands. He just feel the awkward, cringeworthy conversation: her apparent disapproval, his nervous squirming, and the sight of this father pretending he couldn't hear any of it.

He wasn't sure how to play his cards, so he decided maybe the safest thing to do was to provide some sort of equivalency.

"You slept with an accountant and a baker," he said.

Lilia sighed. "Not at the same time! Or even in the same year. I dated one, and then the other."

"I mean, does that matter? I wouldn't be mad about it if you did. That's pretty kinky though."

She balanced the baby carefully and wagged a finger at him. "Yuri, don't even go there!"

"How would that even work?"

"Yuri!"

Yuri nervously said, "They just wanted to do it. I mean, I didn't talk them into it or anything. I don't know how to do that. I think you're the only woman I've ever really asked for sex. The rest came onto me."

Lilia actually found this believable and looked down at one of his nephews. "Your uncle is a mess. But don't worry, I've got this situation under control."

He leaned in and said, "I'd think about you a lot when we were apart. Sometimes at really inappropriate times. Sometimes when I was by myself. I had a couple of really nasty battles and every time I find myself laying in a pool of my own blood, I'd think about you, about what you were doing, about how I missed you. But by the time I got better, I'd lose the nerve. When my mom told me you were engaged, I nearly lost it."

"Not going to lie, I was mad at you for breaking up with me, and then by the time I realized it was the right thing, I just thought I'd missed you and I had to make my life work however I could. I dated this guy and that guy, and finally found someone who I could just be comfortable with, but it wasn't the same. I got so used to telling myself that it was perfect that you came along and just shattered that idea that I'd created for myself."

"We're here, and we're going to make it this time. That's all that matters, right?" he asked.

"Right."

Yuri looked down at his nephew and asked, "Look at this face. You know what he wants?"

"For you to stop moving his hands like he's dancing?"

"Probably that, but until he's bigger than me, I'm the boss of him. But also, I think he wants cousins. Can't you see it on his face?"

Lilia shook her head. "I see a very annoyed baby who is going to start yelling at you. And then his mom is going to yell at you for pissing him off. And then Iggy is going to sigh at you because he's too nice to tell you to stop being Uncle Jerk. You're just like your dad, Baby Annoyer. I don't get the cousins thing."

As if on cue, Hadyn started screaming, and Yuri attempted to comfort him. "Okay, I'm sorry. Don't wake your mom up, she'll either kick me or summon someone else to do it. She has options."

Anna came around the corner, half-asleep with one eyelid drooping. "You."

"I didn't do anything, I swear!"

"A mother knows her baby's cries," she said, taking the newborn from him.

Once the baby calmed down, Yuri and Lilia left and walked toward the ice cream shop. She held his arm, and he sheepishly grinned at her.

They were sitting on a bench licking ice cream cones together, and he said, "So, you're on track to transfer to Magnolia after this school year?"

She nodded. "I'm going to look at an apartment tomorrow before I head back home."

He said, "I've been thinking a lot about things and, I'm sorry for messing up your life. When I think about it, I don't really have a lot to offer you. Dealing with a wizard isn't the easiest thing. I go on long jobs, and you'll be alone a lot. Until we have kids, in which case you'll be taking care of them while I'm gone. Wizards are known for having a short life expectancy. I just think the other guy would at least be safe and he'd come home to you every night. I can't give you that."

"You didn't mess up my life. You saved me from settling. I come from a wizarding family too, so I don't have any illusions about what it's going to be like. I know it's going to be hard sometimes and I still picked you. So let's not talk about that anymore. We'll not talk about him, and I'll never mention your others either."

"I just wanted to make sure, one last time."

This seemed like a deal that advantaged him more than it did her, so he was happy to nod in agreement.

They walked along the river together after they finished their ice cream, and he said, "Lilia, we're not kids anymore, you know. I've been a little jealous of my sisters these past few months. Getting married, having babies. I'm ready to live my life too. Are you ready?"

"This time, yes. I think we're finally there."

Yuri dug into his pocket and sank down onto one knee as he smoothly popped open the ring box. "Will you marry me, then?"

She excitedly exclaimed, "Yes!"

They smiled so wide at each other as he slipped the big diamond ring on her finger.

When he stood, they hugged each other tightly and then kissed.

On the way back, Yuri told her the hassles associated with this event:

First, he'd tried to ask Sting, who just punched him in the stomach a few times, like always, but ultimately gave his blessing. He didn't say it, but Yuri suspected he was very glad they'd gotten back together.

Then, there were his parents.

His father was happy for him and gave him no drama, but his mother made it very clear no one else in the family was going to elope or have a quick wedding. She wanted at least one of her kids to give her months to plan a big wedding, and Mavis had already claimed 'not it.'

Meanwhile at the Dreyar house, Mavis came down to answer the door after someone knocked and found guildmate and bad boy Petri Nekkis. The twenty-five year old was generally credited with Yuri acting so wild, and was chastised regularly for being so reckless. Her father and their guildmaster told him often he either had to calm down or become okay with not living very long.

At the moment, he had a gift bag.

"So, I uhh…I brought a gift. Baby stuff. The lights are off and its kind of quiet, so could you give this to Anna or Iggy or whatever?"

Mavis shrugged. "I guess."

"Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you, Mavi."

The little blonde let him come in, assuming it was about a job and asked, "What about?"

Petri said, "Look, I've been thinking a lot lately. I thought Layla would eventually give in to my charms, but that didn't work out the way I planned. One of my goals in life is to marry Dreyar and make a superbaby, and you're the last Dreyar girl."

Mavis kicked him in the stomach, and when he hunched over, she pinched one of his ears really hard and pulled his head down to her level. "Don't think. It's going to get you hurt."

She thumped his nose once, opened the door, and headbutted him, causing him to stumble out.

Lucy was in the kitchen and came out. "Who was that?"

"Petri."

"What did he want?"

"To get me pregnant."

Lucy shook her head. "He loves danger, but that seems stupid even for him. You know what? I don't even want to know."

Mavis shrugged. "I don't what kind of disorder everyone else seems to have, but I'm not trying to get knocked by any means or by any person."

Her mother said, "You know, you'd be a good mom. Now that I've become a Grams, I just want more and more grandchildren. It's a compulsion, and I lay around with your dad talking about you guys and our growing family. We're looking forward to you living your life. And babies."

Mavis was annoyed by this conversation already, but she sat down on the couch when her mother did. "Things are fine just the way they are."

"You love Baby Orga very much, don't you? I wasn't so sure at first, but you're fiercely protective of your relationship, of your relationship, and of him. You're so loyal to him, and he's happy with you. Sometimes I feel like there's a part of you only he has ever seen, and I guess that's okay. It's important for us to find people we can be vulnerable with," Lucy said.

Her daughter crossed her arms. "He's all right. I like that he's close. His dad is cool."

"Do you two ever talk about the future?"

Mavis nodded. "Sometimes."

Lucy said, "You know, I try to be very respectful of you and your specialness, but I am your mother. I carried you inside of my body. Breastfed you even when you had a fang. All I want to know is what you are planning to do with your life. You've had the same boyfriend for a while and I know there's no way even a peculiar person like you can spend that much time with someone and not ever talk about the future."

Her youngest daughter was clearly displeased about this, but no one could refuse a mother's guilt trip.

So she took a deep breath.

"I might move over there when I make s-class. I don't need any distractions until then. He's a distraction."

"And marriage? And you know the new rule – NO ONE ELOPES!"

Mavis said, "Yeah, I feel like maybe now is a good time for me to tell you this. I'm not getting married. Ever. It's not for me."

Mavis knew this would piss her parents off, but they'd pretend it wouldn't. Despite pretending to be progressive, her family was actually surprisingly traditional.

She determined that the frustration they'd communicate would probably be mostly indirect, like how their mother made Sam and Layla a photo album of them growing up as a wedding gift and left one page blank with this note:

 _I wanted to put pictures of your wedding here, but I wasn't invited. -Love, Mom_

Lucy was indeed annoyed by this, but Mavis was Mavis was Mavis.

"Are you going to give me grandchildren? If you say no, I'll pinch you!"

Mavis grumbled, "Since there are no other Nanagears, I agreed I would give him one son, after I become s-class and have reached age twenty-one. If we try and I have a girl, we will attempt one more time. There will be no more than two pregnancies total, but hopefully just the one."

"That sounds like a contractual negotiation, Mavis…"

"We wrote it down and signed it, so…that's just kind of how it works with us."

This was some limited insight into how Baby Orga and Mavis worked. Lucy found it fascinating and exasperating all at once, but as long as they were happy, she decided to leave it alone. She was satisfied enough by this, and knew she wasn't going to get much more out of her daughter than she had.

When she snuggled into bed with her husband later that night, she gave him a big kiss.

"Honey, we have some weird kids. Good but weird."

Laxus had no arguments. "Do you ever just sit and listen to them talk?"

"I try not to, it always makes me wonder who they got it from. I'm inclined to believe it come from your side of the family."

"As I said to one of my idiot-in-laws, 'the sooner you let your wife just blame you for everything, the sooner you can go to sleep.'"

Lucy wanted to comment about calling their daughters' husbands 'idiot-in-laws,' but she'd overheard what they called him earlier and decided they all just deserved each other.

"Goodnight, Honey."

"Goodnight, Babe."

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	66. The Truth As Told By Siblings

Layla always imagined being married would make her married life like that of her parents. At no point did she calculate that she wasn't her mom, and Sam Redfox wasn't her dad, and they weren't old. Only after the fact did she realize it had taken them literally a lifetime to achieve what they had.

An unfortunate truth had revealed itself to her, after a year as a wife:

The idea of being married and the reality of being married were so dissimilar it was absurd.

If her mom and dad ever had yelling, screaming fights where they threw things at each other, she'd never seen it. She and Sam certainly did.

Her father, who seemed to do his best not to say 'I told you so' told her when he visited that the purpose of dating wasn't to decide whether to marry, but to establish a relationship and determine how things would work. It was the relationship itself, and not a piece of paper or ring that made him happy.

Layla was from a different generation, which had grown up in Fairy Tail after the adults settled down. Another fact she'd failed to even recognize is that they all settled down at once after a protracted period of war, tragedy and strife, which made them anxious to be still. Most were orphans and came from terrible circumstance so when they settled down it was the first time many of them really knew what it was like to be part of traditional family.

She felt isolated in Crocus, and as lavish and as nice as their apartment was, she missed the East Forest. She missed her guild. She missed her family.

When Sam's enlistment period ended, he signed on for a short extension without consulting her because of his unrelenting loyalty to the queen.

So while she was getting ready to move back to Magnolia where she was sure her funk would end, he was skulking around trying to figure out how to tell her.

They didn't make any deals before they married about where they would live or what they would do. They just assumed everything would be great and they'd figure it out along the way. They might have made tentative plans afterward to move, but Layla was quickly realizing Sam built a life in Crocus and he didn't pine for Magnolia like she did.

She woke up most mornings wishing she could go pull a job off the board and travel to some remote place to do something exciting, and yet every morning her schedule was nearly the same. Domestic. Boring.

Sam suggested maybe she could spend some time with a local guild, and even her father said that was an okay thing to do. After all, even he'd spent time in another guild. Layla couldn't bring herself to that, no matter what. She could never erase her Fairy Tail mark or carry the mark of another guild.

Being married was teaching her the fairy tale she'd always wanted to have was not only all she hoped it would be, it sucked most of the time, it was difficult, and maybe it wasn't even right for her at all.

She'd been fine as a wizard who had a different boyfriend every week and wandered around doing jobs. In that phase, she'd constantly been growing, constantly satisfied by excitement.

Every time she looked in the mirror, she remembered she wasn't a pedestrian housewife. When she went to buy groceries in the little market and everyone stared at her eye, she was sure most of the people she came in contact with had no understanding of what the scar really meant or why she didn't mind it. In the elite world of the wealthy in the capital, beauty was everything for a woman.

At the same time, she knew Sam wasn't really doing anything wrong. He treated her well most of the time. They fought about things most couples did. He wasn't terrible. Their worst fights were bad because they both had bad tempers. Nothing more, nothing less.

Because she'd jumped head first into this, she didn't even have the nerve to tell her parents how hard it was.

It was a visit from her older brother that allowed her to vent all of her frustrations and irritations.

Yuri already knew Layla wasn't adjusting well to her life, yet when she visited or the parents visited her, she seemed to be in pure bliss.

Hearing her outline all her problems, none of which were Sam's fault at all, painted quite a picture.

In childhood, they'd all had these neat, cookie-cutter crushes:

There was him and Lilia, which had been such a mess as they grew up. They were on, they were off, then on, then off for a long time, then he nearly destroyed her world and coaxed her into leaving her fiancé for him, and now that they were on again, it wasn't the same. He felt like there was a future they were just supposed to have, like they were destined to be together, and yet, he just had this weird feeling he was starting to get.

Sam and Layla had such a long and complicated story that entire volumes could be written about it. They'd always cared about each other, yet they'd never gotten along. Not as babies, not as small children, and then especially not as teenagers. The way they yelled at each other as toddlers was the same way they yelled at each other as married people. The only people who were surprised by this was Sam and Layla. That was ignoring all the heavier stuff, because oddly enough, Yuri didn't believe it played a huge role in how they treated each other.

Anna and Iggy were odd at first, but they had the most wholesome and probably the healthiest relationship. They were partners, friends, and Iggy had a very Natsu-esque attitude about home-life. If he was with his family, he didn't mind what else was going on. So while Anna obsessed about raising her children perfect and still growing as a wizard and trying to be a wife, Iggy supported her in whatever way her could and tried to help her lower her expectations for herself because he was just happy they were doing all right.

Mavis was a late bloomer and at no point had she ever seemed to need Baby Orga, despite his persistence. It took time and a lot of consistency to whittle her walls down, and he respected her exactly as she was . They were weirdly secretive, but she seemed fine. She always seemed good though; despite her abrasive personality she was successful in life and managed to navigate without having any of her own personal problems, something none of her older siblings had accomplished.

Yuri believed Mavis was probably better off because she never got so invested in the idea of dating. She never seemed to want a boyfriend and even though she treated hers well, no one had any doubts in the world that she'd be just fine if that didn't work.

Meanwhile, everyone else was busy being careless, emotional, and trying to find more about themselves in others.

Yuri felt bad for Layla, and he didn't like the position she was in. Deep down, he had reservations about Sam that lingered at the edge of his mind even though he believed Sam had grown up and overcome all the things that had happened.

All this made him think very carefully, and it forced him to respect the one of them that was happiest was Mavis, who was equally happy in or out of a relationship.

Hearing Layla admit she'd been happy without a boyfriend was interesting, but also sad, because she was married. And he knew if one of their parents had walked in right at that moment, she'd go right back to pretending everything was perfect.

Yuri said, "When you married, did you guys agree on where you'd live?"

"No, we just sort of did it. I just assumed everything would be fine. By the end of the night maybe we were planning. But nothing is going the way I expected. I mean, how could we not get along?"

"Because you've never gotten along."

Layla said, "Sam likes Crocus. His life is here. People respect him and adore him. He walks around and everyone is in awe of him."

Yuri argued on behalf of Sam, simply because he knew Layla and knew she had the ability to be almost unbelievably self-centered. "You give up your dreams so he can be happy or here or he gives up his so you can be happy. How is anybody going to be if the other person is disappointed? And then you talk about babies. You need to chill out and admit this doesn't work the way it is. You can't stay like this forever. You either have to fix whatever is wrong or you should quit now before things get worse."

"I can't just…"

Until he said it, he didn't really know that he felt like that. The words came out with more conviction than he'd expected, but he knew some small part of that was his poisonous doubts about Sam.

Layla didn't need a big brother most of the time, but he felt like she needed one right then.

"I was the one that was with you when you lost your eye. We almost died together, and I remember your face. You were so determined. You're such a powerful wizard and I know the deepest things in the magic world are calling to you and you're sitting here playing house and you think it's Sam's fault you're not happy."

For all her power, Layla had always been just a little bit crazy, but it ran in the family. Yuri had memories of watching Makarov do and say things that were absolutely bonkers, and he had the same self-sacrificing yet self-centered behavior. Makarov would do anything to help his guild, but he'd also do quite a lot to help himself.

Layla always had competing interests and goals; she loved magic, but she wanted to fall in love. She'd willfully taken on a lifetime of strife to try and pursue both at the same time, only to elope with Sam and land her in a position where pursuing life as a Fairy Tail wizard was difficult.

Yuri asked, "What if leaving Crocus isn't what's best for Sam? You know if he goes home, he has to face everything that happened, and all the people who might hold it against him forever."

"Like you?" she asked.

"The thing with Bluenote was probably an accident. Breaking into our house and trying to steal stuff from Dad while Mom was sick in the hospital was a bit much. I can treat him okay, and I don't think he'd try anything, but that doesn't mean I want him in the family. Not to put to fine of a point on it, but if Sam gets mixed up in anything bad again and you're married to him, it'll probably impact you in some way or another."

Layla was quick to defend Sam, but she knew there was probably no changing Yuri's mind. He was slow to dislike anyone or to get angry, but she'd known him to harbor feelings deep inside. It was part of the pathology of Lilia—no matter how many women he handled, he only let Lilia be his girl because it was ingrained in him somewhere extremely deep.

It made her not trust his opinion very much, even though it had seemed true.

Yuri could practically hear her brain hit the brakes and toss out everything he'd had to say. He knew it would go this way, because she was stubborn and whatever she did, she did with her everything. Telling Layla to go home if she wasn't happy was like telling a sign post to do a lovely interpretative dance. Quitting wasn't in her nature, and neither was giving up on someone she'd chosen to love.

Now that they were older, it was clear that despite being raised by the same parents in the same town and having mostly the same experiences, they were all vastly different. They related to the world and to others in dissimilar ways, encountered different challenges, and made different mistakes.

Layla finally said, "I can't believe you even still feel that way. You never said anything."

"You didn't anyone a chance to say anything."

"What else do you think?"

"About you and Sam?"

She nodded.

Yuri said, "I think you are the most powerful wizard in our family, and you're supposed to reach heights in the magic world the rest of us don't even know exist. But you're going to dig in, and you're going to fight to make this work. Your growth is going to be stifled, you're not going to work, you're going to end up pregnant, and you're going to live out a frustrating and mediocre life here in Crocus.

"And I guess I just don't get it. You already paid the toll, and you did it with your blood. With your eye. It's like you bought a train ticket and then didn't get on because you thought you'd be happier if you went somewhere else. If you were supposed to living like this, you'd be happy."

It was the most he'd ever seemed like his father. Normally, Yuri was polite and easy to get along with, but his biting criticisms of Layla were the kind Laxus hit the guild members with when they were doing something stupid or needed correction. Except instead of being a frustrated guild leader or father, he was an annoyed older brother, who was watching his sisters face assorted perils.

Anna got pregnant, Layla eloped.

The grim reality was that relationships were innately destructive. They destroyed some part of each person involved and then fashioned that missing part into something else. At least, that's how it looked, and it left a sour taste in his mouth.

He'd been engaged for a few months, but was he supposed to get married?

Yuri felt restless and frustrated, and only understood now at his age that his parents had tried hard to protect them from themselves.

There was a sense of tension between the siblings, who had always been close.

Layla turned away from him and asked, "Why'd you even come, Yuri?"

"I came to ask you to go on my job with me. It'll take a while. It's remote. You can come on my jobs with me from now on. I don't want to leave you up here by yourself."

The idea was delightful, and she asked, "You don't mind?"

"Nobody in this world I'd rather wizard with than you. I went on my last job with mom and she got into the wine and told me how I was born again. Besides, it's nice to work. You get so far away from everything. I love being out in the woods or in the mountains or whatever and knowing no one else is around. It makes me feel close to the world. Closer to magic. Being in the city is annoying, I guess."

Layla said, "Do I need to pack warm or cold?"

"We're going north, so warm."

His sister packed a bag, left a note for Sam, and made sure their cat had food and water.

Layla was pissed off at her brother for showing up and having opinions, but she knew no matter what, he loved her as much as anybody would. Yuri was always there for her, and when she wrote a letter to him complaining about boredom, he showed up to carry her away to snowy peaks for violence with monsters.

All seemed right in the world again, except for his motion sickness that came as soon as they were on the train; that was gross and inconvenient as always.

Yuri sighed in contentment as the first waves of nausea came. "It's good to go on jobs with you, you know how to operate a puke bag like nobody else."

Back in Magnolia, Laxus was watching his grandsons and marveling at the fact he was a grandfather for the thousandth time. It made him feel old, but in an acceptable and warm sort of way. They were three months old and still very much at their chubby baby phase. Like all dragons, they were voracious eaters, screamers, and poopers.

Sometimes he felt like Iggy and Anna went on tiring wizard jobs because they could sleep.

Yuri was out on a job and planned on stopping to get Layla if she so desired, Anna and Iggy were on a job, Lucy, Mavis, and Levy were on a job, and this left him with Lex and with his grandsons, Hadyn and Taryn.

Two baby boys, a seven-year-old, and the family patriarch.

They were also all dragons.

Lex helped him feed the twins, asking a multitude of questions about babies he patiently answered.

Laxus believed that having older children learn how to look after babies was an important character-building experience. He felt it had shaped all his older children and taught them to be compassionate and loving toward family.

Lex asked, "I think I want to be a big brother."

His father's brow rose. "…that's never going to happen. You might as well give up on that right now. That ship has sailed and you missed it."

"Mom takes good care of babies. I see her with the twins all the time."

That eyebrow continued it's upward climb. "She takes good care of babies as opposed to your father, who just doesn't know what he's doing."

"I don't know. You're not Mom."

"I have five kids and two grandkids. I know some things. And you know what? Someday, when you get older and you have kids, you're going to show up here with an annoying, screaming baby and beg me—the guy who isn't as good as Mom—to take care of your kid so you can sleep. And I will bring this day back to your remembrance," he said.

"That's petty, Dad."

Laxus said, "I'll show you petty. Just wait until you grow up."

Lex said, "Mavis told me that you dropped Yuri on his head when he was a baby."

"Yuri is twenty-three years old. Why all of you can't seem to forget that yet can't remember to take out the trash is a mystery fit for the ages. Besides, I didn't really drop him. He rolled off the couch onto his skull when he was about the age the twins are now."

The idea that Yuri was ever small was strange to Lex, as Yuri had been the tallest person he knew for as long as he could remember. To a young child, tall people were still basically giants who walked the earth with him and Yuri was the tallest of the giants.

The boy added, "Mavis also said that when babies are little, their heads are soft like cheese, and when you dropped Yuri on his head, it squished his brain."

Laxus sighed. "Mavis would never lie, right?"

"She lies a lot, Dad. She told me that the refrigerator was a magic portal to the North Pole and that's why it's cold, and that it closed whenever the door opened. So if I got inside, I could go to the North Pole. I did it, and it didn't work. Cause that's not how refrigerators even work. She kept me in there for a long time. It was cold, but I had my jacket on cause I thought I was going to the North Pole. It was a good place to think though, cause I ate some pudding when I was in there."

When he got too old to be guildmaster, Laxus planned on someday writing a book about Mavis and Lex. He felt like every time he turned around, she was talking him into doing something ridiculous like eating fish would give him the ability to breathe under water or that snakes were caterpillars whose legs fell off.

The door swung open and Lucy and Mavis entered, covered in slime and angry.

Lucy took her boots off and dropped them outside the front door, knowing they needed to be cleaned before being brought inside.

"Welcome back! How was the job?" Lex asked.

Mavis took a few steps toward him and gave him a huge hug, covering him in the goop. She affectionately whispered, "I'm tired and I'm covered in monster boogers. But now you are too, and that makes it a little better."

Lucy sighed. "Mavis!"

Lex peeled a stringy, slimy chunk off his arm.

And then he did what made sense and seemed fair to him as a little boy:

He picked his nose and wiped it on her shirt. "That's my booger. It's for you."

Had he not retaliated by being gross, the parents would have intervened to help him, but he did. So they did not save him when she dragged him by the collar out the back door and threw him into the swimming pool.

Lucy patiently waited as Laxus fetched her a towel and said, "Our kids are weird and disgusting."

He briefly contemplated which pool chemicals would neutralize monster snot and then focused his attention back on the babies while everyone else in the house had to bathe due to pool water and monster slime.

Overall, it seemed like a normal afternoon at their house.

Once she was clean, Lucy joined her husband on the living room floor where their grandsons were happily kicking about, looking around and studying their every move.

She kissed their little feet and their little cheeks and their little tummies.

"Just look at these little feet, who even knows where they're going to carry these boys someday."

Laxus kissed her cheek. "Probably to adventures, misadventures, you know…the same as their parents."

Lucy kissed him back. "You know, I really miss when everybody was under the same roof. It's weird not having Anna here when she comes home, and especially weird not seeing Layla. Then I think Yuri will move out someday…maybe, and Mavis. Even Lex is going to grow up."

Laxus said, "I don't think our oldest is ever going to leave. I'm not complaining. It just is what it is."

"My Thunder Baby can stay with us as long as he wants. Besides, there's no reason for him to waste money trying to live on his own. Having to pay rent, buy food, that stuff takes a toll."

"He's an S-Class wizard, not a waiter at a restaurant."

Laxus rolled over onto his back. "I thought Layla would be moved back by now."

"Sam signed a short extension. It'll be over soon."

He grumbled under his breath, as he was getting impatient with having one of his kids that far away all the time.

"Do you think they're all right?" he asked.

Lucy shook her head. "I feel like she's trying to convince me everything is perfect when she writes."

"Me too. But if it's not, if she admits it it's like she admits she fucked up. I don't think she's going to do that," her husband answered.

"Of course she won't. Those two are going to have to take the long way around to figure out how to handle things. I think they can. It's just going to be hard, but we can't make their decisions for them."

Laxus stared up at the ceiling and said, "I think Anna and Layla have scared Yuri a little bit shitless about getting married. I'm fine with that. I'm fine with them living their lives and settling down or whatever, but those things have consequences and I think it's good for people to understand that. Not just our kids…the other kids in the guild that are starting to get to that age too."

Lucy went back to kissing baby feet. "Did we have a hard time?"

"I don't think so. I mean, we had some fights early on. But eventually we just figured out how to live a life of contented bickering and things have been good. I can't think of any time I wasn't happy," he said.

"Me neither."

Lucy leaned down to kiss her husband and gave him deep kiss. "Are we going to tell Layla we know she needs help?"

"We've been telling our children they can't bullshit us literally since they were born and it has never worked. At this point, it would just be wasted breath," he argued.

He reached up for her short blond hair and smirked.

"What are you thinking about?"

Laxus twisted his fingers in her hair and pulled her down to kiss him. "Actually, I was just thinking we need milk. I need a distraction. You want to go out on a date with me?"

"A date, huh? You're probably just trying to get into my pants."

"My butt isn't big enough to get into your pants," he teased.

Lucy punched him in the stomach lightly. "You love my backside."

"I do."

"You're like a little dog or something, always wanting to chew on it. Honestly, it's kind of gross."

Laxus asked, "Why would I be a little dog? Couldn't I be a big dog? I feel like I'd be a Great Dane."

"Little dogs are the real biters, so…I can envision you as a poodle."

"Doggy-style is the only canine reference I will consider valid," he said.

Mavis hit the bottom of the stairs in a fresh set of clothes with a towel wrapped around her wet hair and glared at them. Lex was right behind her, also fresh from the shower.

He was about to ask a question, and Mavis put her hands over his lips. "Our parents are weird and disgusting. That's all you need to know."

"Okay."

Mavis went on as they went to the kitchen to get sodas. "You're lucky. Since you were adopted, you didn't get anything weird in your blood. There's no hope for the rest of us. We were doomed before we were born to live like this."

"I eat poison."

"Don't argue with me. I'm trying to teach you a lesson here."

Laxus got up off the floor, and helped his wife up, and then picked up the baby boys and carried them up to their crib upstairs.

They dressed and got ready for their date, and found Mavis and Lex still exploring the deep philosophical things of the world at the table.

"We're going out, you two can watch the twins until we get back," Laxus said.

Lex asked, "Can we go?"

To which Mavis replied, "Mom and Dad go out on dates when we get on their nerves so they can get away from us. By the time they get back, they'll be happy to see us again."

Lex just nodded like he understood what she was trying to explain, and Lucy wondered if she was really the best person to be around him all the time. Looking at the world through her eyes must have been strange indeed.

"What do you think parenting is about, Mavis?" Lucy asked.

The little blonde gave her a lopsided, fanged grin. "It's half annoying your kids and half trying to escape from them. Or…maybe one-third annoying us, one-third trying to escape from us, and one-third cleaning up vomit and diapers."

Laxus said, "Why are you like this?"

"I don't understand why people keep asking me that question. I'm the most well-adjusted kid you have. I haven't killed anyone, I didn't get knocked up, I didn't elope, I've never been under investigation by the Magic Council."

Lex said, "I didn't do any of that stuff either."

Mavis replied, "Don't argue unless you want to go back to the North Pole."

Laxus assumed this mean Mavis was possibly threatening to put their son in the refrigerator against his will. Since Mavis would never let actual harm come to him, it was easy to excuse these shenanigans because she loved him and he did occasionally provoke her.

"Do what you must. We're going out for pasta," he said.

Lucy grabbed her sweater as they left and then walked with her husband. He reached for her hand and she squeezed his back. "Sometimes, I think you might have a crush on me."

"Maybe. You're hot and I'm horny."

"Are you really?" she asked.

He had to think about it. "I'm not sure, actually. We have to get a little closer before I can make any predictions about my dick."

His wife said, "Sometimes, I think about when we were young, and we had sex all the time, and it just seems tiring to think about. I'm in good shape, and there's nothing wrong with my stamina as far as exercise goes, but the idea of doing it three times a day or more for multiple days just seems like overkill."

Getting old as a couple was interesting, but comfortable. They still teased each other and played almost constantly, but over the course of their marriage, things had changed. Lucy lost her sex drive completely when she was ill and once she got better, it didn't really ever come back to the way it had been. Now she was starting to go through changes and he was too, experiencing occasional dysfunction.

They were honest enough to admit they were okay with all of this and had no problems laughing at and enjoying their mishaps when they happened.

Although, for the record, they were both in fantastic shape. Probably Lucy more than Laxus because she'd been working quite a bit. After spending so many years tending primarily to the guild and to children, suddenly she was stretching out her wings as a wizard and reminding everyone that she was still the queen bee of celestial spirit summoning.

It was not uncommon for people to assume that Lucy and any of their daughters were siblings. But he was still stuck with his silvery-white hair and he'd been a few years older than her to start with. It made them look like they had a bigger age difference than they did, and she enjoyed teasing him about it.

She didn't look like a forty-four-year-old who had saved the world more than once, given birth to four kids, made S-Class, raised a whole generation of young wizards with him at Fairy Tail, kicked cancer's ass, and had grandchildren. Lucy was still vibrant and still so ambitious.

There wasn't a day that he hadn't felt lucky to be with her.

"You're looking pretty good, you know. Your arms look really strong," he said.

Lucy flexed her arms to show him the muscle. "Yeah, you better be careful. You don't want to piss me off."

He laughed. "What are you going to do? Beat me up?"

"I mean, maybe."

Laxus grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. "Now what?"

She squealed. "Put me down, you barbarian!"

"Never ever!"

He carried her down a narrow alley and put her down. "How about now?"

"Laxus! Behave!"

"C'mon, don't be like that. We used to do stuff like this all the time. I am horny, right now, and I think you are too."

Lucy looked around and knew there was nearly no chance anyone would see them. "I…okay. But if we get caught, you'll be sorry."

There was rustling of clothes, and Lucy was pinned against the wall.

And when they were done, panting and satisfied by their quick little diversion, Lucy fixed her skirt and he bit her ear lightly, making her giggle.

"Stop. Zip up your pants. Be good. Geeze."

Laxus did as he had been commanded. "Right, we're responsible adults."

"Of course. I'll forgive you if you buy me dinner."

 _ **Please Review!**_

AN: So, I sort of fell off the face of the earth for a while. I had an unexpected death really close to me, and it just, it sucked the life and the inspiration out of me. For a long time, it was like I just couldn't write. Writing about a family was something I felt like I couldn't do when I'd lost someone so close to me. I don't know how many of you guys are still with me, but I am sorry for not updating this story for so long.

Special thanks to Guest, Kairi1780, Ikazuchiru, belladog2524, motherotakuu, dragonlady98, kennedydreyar, animegirl549, kurosora1021, JenheartAI, Therashae, Sea Dragonslayer, Adonisx, chipthemunkey, savygirl1515, beefcakebarbierenewed, madsoullessqueen, sexylaxus, kurahieiritr JIO, JenHeartAI, FairyglitterXD, LunastarLady, katiekat2001, dlynncherry, Lea, b2utifulshawol, saskiarosee, rere97maui, 17, queenofws, stavroula99, MWolfe13, lucyheartfilialover360, screen, and arouraleona for reviewing!


	67. The End of a Beginning

Sam Redfox did _not_ want to be where he was, standing at the doors to Fairy Tail.

He'd come in from an assignment in the east after two weeks to find out his wife had gone on a job with her older brother. Worst of all, when the job had been finished, she'd left another note saying she'd gone back home to visit her family for 'a few days.'

But she'd taken all Makarov Dreyars journals with her. They were to her living situation what clothes and underwear were to someone else. If they were gone, she wasn't planning on coming home anytime soon.

Layla was too obstinate to leave on her own, and her parents didn't meddle with their marriage. Yuri was his own person though, and if his sister wasn't happy, he wasn't happy.

Sam was sure that Yuri had talked her into coming home for a while. He viewed this as sabotage and generally unacceptable interference. Siblings shouldn't get involved with marriage; it seemed like something that would only make everything worse.

When he stepped in the doors, he stared at everyone and everyone looked back down at him.

There were new members he didn't recognize, old members who were stunned to see him standing there, and more than a few that weren't happy about his reappearance.

Up top, on the balcony, were the young 'titans' of Laxus Dreyar's Fairy Tail:

Yuri and Layla Dreyar and Petri Nekkis, the son of the Magic Council Chairman who made his own way to Fairy Tail during the upheaval years before.

Petri was Layla's first real boyfriend, the first guy she'd done a lot of stuff with, and while that hadn't ended particularly well, it was the longest she spent with anyone else. Their relationship had been somewhat famous, because they were famous. Petri was charismatic and well-known for being wild, and she was the gorgeous and powerful heir to all that was Makarov Dreyar.

Even Sorcerer's Weekly had a little gossip post written by another wizard implying Layla had somehow blown it big time dumping Petri only to ultimately marry Sam later on.

So seeing the three of them sitting together and having an apparently okay morning made his stomach turn. It also made him so angry he was about to march up there and do something about it when his father grabbed him by the ear.

"Oy, don't start trouble. You're on thin ice in these parts as it is. If you come here and tear up the guild over a lover's quarrel, you're going to make it worse."

Sam pulled away. "I'm not a child, Dad."

Gajeel, now gray at his temples, said, "To a parent, a child is always a child, no matter how old."

Sam immediately suspected maybe his father had been hanging around for the sole purpose of preventing his son from showing up and causing problems. This was embarrassing, and fueled insecurities he long felt he'd outgrown.

This was the problem with Magnolia; it made him feel like the worst version of himself. The town reminded him of every fault he didn't have to deal with as Captain Redfox, and every insecurity that drove him toward every mistake. He'd hurt the guild in the past, and not everyone had forgotten about it.

As a grown man, he didn't feel like those insecurities were supposed to be there. He was successful and happy living what was basically his second life in a bustling, beautiful city that was so far removed from his past he simply never had to think about it.

The part of him that maybe always wanted to come home was excited by the idea when he'd first married Layla, but the reality was terrifying and unpleasant.

When he looked up, Layla was standing at the edge of the rail, looking down at him as if she really wasn't happy to see him standing there.

His own wife didn't want to be around him, and this was the moment he realized how bad things really were.

And then she took a few steps back from the rail and walked off, heading to one of the upstairs classrooms where older wizards took turns teaching the guild kids. It was something she loved doing, and something she'd missed during her time with him.

The upstairs was reserved for guild members only, because the guild archives, offices, classrooms, and job boards were all upstairs. The expansive downstairs area was more or less a public space where wizards from other guilds stopped in while traveling, or even traders trying to sell magic objects or people who just wanted to eat there and buy t-shirts or stuffed animals.

Sam already knew there were runes that would keep someone without a mark from even walking up the stairs because Layla told him she and Freed had created them.

So, even if he wanted to make a scene, he'd hit a wall, and anyone who thought they could get past Freed's runes was simply an idiot.

Besides, his father-in-law and guildmaster was sitting at a table downstairs drinking coffee with Natsu. They let the kids fight and work out rivalries, but violence between the adults was met with swift action.

Laxus found the entire affair to be like watching a terrible accident happen in slow motion. Of course, running off and eloping was a terrible idea. No one was surprised Sam and Layla were having a hard time, but the parents collectively agreed they needed to work it out on their own.

He'd nearly talked Yuri's ears off for involving himself and convincing his sister to come home. He'd seen Makarov's journals and came to the same conclusion as Sam; if she stopped to get them, she wasn't planning on going back for a while, if at all.

Laxus watched Sam and Gajeel, frowned at his coffee, and said, "Kids are such a pain in the ass."

Natsu offered a sagely nod. "You remember when you were young, and kind of an idiot, but because you were an idiot, you didn't know you were an idiot?"

"Everyone was a teenager once. Was it nice? For the life of me, I can't remember whether or not I enjoyed being that age. On one hand, it was a miserable time in my life. Going on jobs, getting beat up trying to get stronger, but I truly believed that I knew everything, that I was better than everyone else, and seemed to assume I was immortal."

"I can't wait for them to just yell at each other and get over it like always. They've got half the guild gossiping and sharing opinions. Layla and Sam don't listen to advice."

Laxus looked back down at his crossword puzzle, wondering why his wife wasn't there to help him fill in the eighty percent of it he felt she was naturally responsible for as his partner, and shrugged. "Once, when Layla was a toddler, she argued, threw a fit, and held her breath until she passed out while arguing with me about whether or not she'd get wet if she went out in the rain."

"How did it go?"

"She went outside anyway and came in ten minutes later soaked and crying because the rain 'made her hair ugly.' There's something about her that's naturally very irrational. Sam has always had the weird ability to stir up the part of my daughter that doesn't make any sense. She wouldn't have run off with anyone else in this world."

If Gajeel kept Sam from turning the guild into a beehive of rage, that was enough. All the involved parents to the contentions Sam-Layla marriage discussed what was going on thoroughly and ultimately concluded they didn't really know what was happening. There were some theories, but no one really knew.

When Layla finally did come down from upstairs, she wasn't in a good mood.

Sam was waiting for her, patiently, or at least as patiently as he could manage.

She approached the table where he was sitting and asked, "What are you doing here, Sam?"

"What do you think? I came home and you were gone. I just had some note saying you were going for a while. You can't just do that."

Layla sat down and said, "I needed some time to think. I _need_ time to think."

"Think about what? Whether or not you even want to come home?"

Layla leaned in and answered, "All we do is fight. When we're not fighting, it's because we're not talking to each other."

"You can't be the one who starts all the fights and then complain about how we're always fighting. Or feuding with me and then fighting about feuding. We go from silence to yelling and then things are fine for ten seconds and it's right back. We'd be doing a lot better if you'd just settle down."

Layla felt her temper flare up again and said, "Of course I'm the one who starts the fights. You're the one who has everything they want in this relationship. I _hate_ living in Crocus. I'm too far from my family, from my work, and the only people I really see on a daily basis are the high society people who don't understand anything about who or what I am. I'm not just your wild and noisy wife, I had a whole life before you came along, and now I suddenly don't."

The knight was annoyed with her too, because as far as he was concerned, he'd given her everything she could possibly want except one single thing. Layla had always been spoiled, always had everything that she wanted, and she hadn't ever had to grow out of that. She was born pretty and powerful, into the most influential magic bloodline in Fiore.

Sam said, "You can have anything you want, do anything you want. You don't even have to work if you don't want to."

Layla answered, "Sam, I'm not a door post. If you wanted a girl like that, Crocus is full of them. I didn't marry you because I needed security or a future and you were the only way for me to have that. The only thing I ever wanted from you is you, but you're asking me to give up the things that make me who I am. And I…I can't."

Sam leaned on the table and asked, "What about the things that make me who I am? Magnolia just reminds me of everything that went wrong, and everything that's wrong with me. It's like there are two separate worlds. In one I'm a knight, someone who is respected, and no one even thinks about the rest. But I come home, and I'm still the same old person."

"We can't live in two separate worlds and be married, Sam. We simply can't. You don't want to come live in my world, and I don't want to stay in yours. I was thinking maybe we could try to be long-distance. I'll be here, and you'll be there, and we can see each other when we can."

Her husband's frown only deepened as they reached this point. "So one of us has to give up or we aren't going to stay together."

Layla was quiet for a while, but said, "That's how I felt at first. Like I would leave because I didn't want to be stuck in Crocus forever and I wanted to live my life. But then when we were on our job we were up north, everything was cold and white and clear to me. I don't think it would be good for either of us to give up our careers and what makes us happy."

One of the problems with this whole situation was that Sam was never clear on what she wanted. He wondered at times what kind of person she would have grown up to be if she wasn't so seriously anchored to her family, and had come to understand that those connections and her ambitions kept her grounded. In Crocus, she was isolated from her family and her career.

The months of fighting were wearing her down, and he'd thought maybe it was a sign of progress, like if they fought enough, they'd get tired of being at odds and get along. Now he knew this was a mistake. She wasn't getting ready to compromise, she was getting ready to leave.

Now, she was telling him she didn't want him to give in to her whim and move to Magnolia with her, but that she wanted to be there.

Sam asked, "You don't get to decide what happens by yourself. That's not fair. I've invested as much in this as you have, and I'm not going to give up on us. That's ridiculous, Layla. After everything, the idea that you'd be ready to quit after six months is stupid."

His wife said, "If we'd just waited, and dated, like our parents would have asked us to do if we'd just given them the chance, I don't think we would have gotten married. We would have gotten to this issue and broken up and gone on to live our lives. I always get caught up in my own feelings, and I guess six months ago, I just felt like if we loved each other enough, everything would just work itself out. That was naïve and stupid."

Sam remembered well how it felt when they'd gotten married; it had been the high of a lifetime. For the first month, they had a couple of little things go wrong, but they'd been in a state of bliss. When the afterglow wore off, they were left with questions about how their marriage was going to work, where they were going to live, and what was necessary for both to be happy.

Most people thought he had failed her as a husband. He'd taken her away from her family, and he was sure it was probably the unhappiest period of her life. They were constantly at odds, she cried a lot out of the sheer disappointment, and she was so far away from her family she couldn't lean on them.

His eyes moved over the guild, and most were either not paying attention or pretending not to stare. At a table in the corner on the other side, he could see his father-in-law watching them closely. When they'd married, Laxus had been so furious with Layla he didn't speak to her or even return her letters for a while, but when he came around, he was hopeful that they'd be okay.

Yuri and Petri Nekkis were still drinking beer up top, but Sam knew if Yuri had turned on the marriage, it spelled big trouble for them because he had always been Layla's best friend. If she'd wanted to leave, he'd certainly given her the courage to overcome her own obstinacy and do it.

This moment they'd come to was different than anything in any of their prior disagreements. Layla told him they couldn't stay together unless one of them gave up what was important to them, but that she didn't want to sacrifice her needs and she didn't want him to give up his. So she'd put forth the idea that they live separately.

Sam said, "How would that even work? The whole point of getting married is to be with somebody. I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you too, but it doesn't work, Sam. I don't really want you to give up your life, and I'm not going to give up mine. The truth is, we were both fine and happy on our own until we decided to do this."

He slumped down in his chair. "Do you even know how much it means to me to come home to you? It's everything to me."

"Sam, it isn't. If it was everything to you, if was enough, we wouldn't be here."

"So how does this work? You stay here, I stay back at home, and we see each other when? I don't want to do this. It's stupid, Layla. It's a terrible idea and I hate it. I'm not going to go along with this. If you don't want us to live together, don't string me along. If we're at the point where you don't even want to live with me anymore, at least have the guts to just admit you're done."

"Sam…"

He felt agitated, but he didn't even have the heart to yell about it.

He covered his face and rubbed it a few times as he let out a sigh. "This doesn't even feel real. I'll do whatever you want, Layla. Just don't do this. I'll move. I'll make sure we never fight again. Anything you want."

"I don't want you to be unhappy."

"And you think I'll be happy if you leave me? Is that fucking joke?"

Layla said, "I didn't say anything about leaving you. Just living in different places."

"I'm not doing that. Marriage is all or nothing. Can you imagine if our parents tried to raise us like that?"

"We don't have kids, Sam. And honestly, fuck our parents and their happy ending. They're not us. I'm at a point where I can admit what we did was a mistake. If you don't want to try a long-distance relationship, well, that's all I have to offer you right now," she said.

Sam scratched his head and sat there in silence while he thought about the options.

It was intense, brutal, and bloody to jump head-first into a marriage that they hardly thought out. Life had taught them some painful and difficult lessons, namely about the kinds of tricks the human mind can play on itself. All their lives, they'd operated out of a somewhat dysfunctional belief that there was something special about them.

Yet for as long as either of them could remember, they'd bickered. Always. About everything. And while that had been fine when they were children, it was different in a marriage.

For Layla, it was the death of one of the most powerful beliefs she'd held in her life. There had been so many boys she'd entertained brief crushes with, but she didn't stay with any of them for long. Most of them were okay guys, but she'd dismissed them all for not being Sam.

Sam had the same kind of mindset.

There were periods of time where she'd despised Sam, but even then, it was so deeply ingrained in her that the only way she was able to dig that part of her out was to actually be married to Sam and realize they were incompatible, and that their constant contention was a miserable state to live in.

They occasionally talked about the future in flowery terms, but with things as they were, she'd lost her taste for it.

Sam said, "I could move. I didn't realize it was this bad."

"What would the purpose of that even be? You'd come here, and you'd be the one who is unhappy, and you would blame me for it. And we'd still fight all the time and I'd feel bad that you weren't happy. That's nonsense. We'd be happier living apart than we are living together."

Layla was really saying in a lot of words that they were broken, and that there was no fixing them. The idea of living separate lives as married people was possibly enough for her, but it wasn't enough for him. He wasn't surrounded by family in Crocus, and he'd been far less unhappy than she had been. Sam enjoyed waking up next to her, and the times when they were at peace and they'd lay in bed and snuggle.

Of course, he liked the sex, and their screaming matches typically led to some of the most vigorous and impassioned sessions probably ever known to humankind.

Sometimes they played with their cat together, and it made his heart feel a certain kind of warm.

Coming home to an empty home and waiting long periods of time to spend brief visits with his wife was not part of his plan. He wanted to settle down, have someone around, raise a family of his own someday.

Layla's mind wasn't set on any of those things. As soon as she was removed from Magnolia, she became restless, frustrated, and eager to work, act out her independence. While she entertained and encouraged the idea of having a family, the longer they were together, the less she seemed interested.

Now Sam felt like maybe she'd talked less and less about their future because it vanished in her mind, bit by bit.

Sam said, "I wanted to marry you because I was lonely and because I love you. I felt like I needed a companion and someone who was going to be my partner. You were supposed to be that person. I'm not interested in some sort of long-distance crap. I'm just not. I'm not going to go along with it."

"Then what, Sam?"

"You're giving me shitty options. Well, one option. And you're acting like you're some wise sage telling me that I shouldn't compromise with you. I'll move, if you're going to leave me over it."

Layla answered, "First of all, we're not going to go down that road, where one of us ends up unhappy to keep the other. And second, I know what it's like to feel stifled, suffocated and unhappy in a marriage and I don't want you to feel that way. I'm not as selfish as you think."

"So you think you're going to move out and it's for my good. My wife thinks she can leave me, and tell me it's so I can be happy at the same time. Because I made you unhappy, you're going to save me from feeling as bad as I made you feel by just leaving? How do you think that's going to feel for me? This long-distance idea is stupid, and it's not going to work. It's just going to postpone what seems to be inevitable."

"Sam, wait, just…"

Sam raised his voice a little then and argued, "No, really think about it, Layla. How do we grow together if we're not around each other? No sharing mornings together or watching the cat growing bigger or snuggling or making love every night or staying up all night talking. How would we ever raise a family? We'd be miserable and alone and married at the same time."

His wife knew this was probably true; she'd try to think her way around it for a while. People separated to try and sort things out, but there wasn't anything to figure out. They didn't get along, wanted to live two different lives in two different places.

Sam crossed his arms and slouched down a little more. "Layla, I love you."

"I love you too."

Then he said, "I think we should split up. If you don't want to work on this anymore and living apart is the only thing you're willing to do, it's already over. I don't agree with it, but you're not giving me any choice in the matter."

Layla's first instinct was to cry, or to beg him not to go to those lengths, but Sam was right about a lot of things. Separation was a bandage slapped on a mortal wound that couldn't be fixed. They simply didn't have a path to the future and had no way to make one without someone being worse off than they would be outside of their marriage.

She didn't want it to be her, and she didn't want it to be him either. And he didn't want her to be unhappy forever. Sam had hoped up until that morning that she'd eventually give in and become happy with their life. Yet it hadn't happened, and he now knew it was never going to happen. Her insistence that he not move to Magnolia was in some ways a stunning rebuke of how he'd made her feel. He'd worn her down to nothing, with fights and frustrations and worries.

She nodded. "Okay."

They didn't have much else to say because they'd run out of things to talk about. They'd reached the end of the two decades long disaster that was Sam and Layla. It felt permanent because it came without the emotions and the irrational yelling. It simply was what it was.

Layla finally sighed. "How do we do this?"

"I don't know. I guess there's paperwork. You can come get your stuff whenever. I'm headed east for a while."

"What about Baby?" she asked of their cat.

Sam said, "Can she stay with me?"

Layla nodded, her lip quivering. "You'll take good care of her."

"Of course. She'll be fine. She'll miss you."

Sam asked, "I guess you get like half my earnings from when we were together. I'll have somebody sort it out."

"That's all right. I'm fine. I don't need anything. I mean, I'll come get the rest of my clothes and stuff."

"Our parents are going to be disappointed. But nowhere near as disappointed as I am right now. My heart literally hurts right now."

"Mine too," she said.

He stood up and took a few steps backward before he turned and walked out of the guild without a word to his father, who was sitting not far from the door. Gajeel followed, and Layla stood up and wandered up to her father's office, where her mother was doing guild paperwork.

Laxus made his way up after her, wondering what had been said. She wasn't in hysterics, which made it impossible to determine what had happened.

He was halfway there when he heard her suddenly break out into sobs, and upon entering, found her sobbing uncontrollably in her mother's arms.

They'd suspected things were amiss, but until Layla showed up, they hadn't understood just how badly things had gone or how unhappy Layla had been. She'd been very private about it, like admitting to them that there were problems meant she'd have to admit they'd made a mistake.

Of course it was a mistake; everyone knew it as soon as they married except them.

They'd had high hopes and put great faith in Layla and Sam, but life being what it was, neither Laxus nor Lucy was really shocked beyond belief. If they'd dated properly, it might have been different, but they hadn't, and consequently, they found out they had a serious incompatibility after they'd already tied the knot.

Despite attempting to raise their children as well as possible, they now had Yuri, who had publicly embarrassed them somewhat with a period of public whoring before decided to go back to his first love; Layla, who was on her way to a divorce; Anna, who got pregnant at eighteen and was now married; and Mavis, who—as she never forgot to point out—hadn't gotten into serious trouble.

This made them grateful for Lex, who was too young for any drama.

They weren't sure whether to try and talk Layla out of it, but once she finished crying, she finally opened up to them about everything. Their strong and fierce daughter had entangled herself in a web of confusion and angst and been broken down by it to the point not even her pride could keep her from admitting the marriage wasn't going to work.

Layla seemed to have grown up quite a lot; being stuck in an unhappy relationship long enough had given her a sense of empathy. Now, she no longer wanted Sam to capitulate to moving to Magnolia because she knew how he'd feel.

Despite being devastated, disappointed, and somehow shocked by the collapse of her marriage, Layla's decision seemed to be based on logic rather than the two of them just getting so mad at each other they couldn't deal with one another anymore.

When she cried herself to sleep on the sofa in the office, Lucy covered her with a blanket.

"What do you think?"

Her husband shook his head. "I want to snap Sam in half."

"Primal urges don't count as thoughts. I don't think Sam really stole her or talked her into anything. They're equally guilty here," Lucy said.

Laxus sat down at his desk and rested his head on his hand. "But hear me out. If someone marries my kid, I expect them to make that kid happy. That's not just for the girls, either. If you were ever unhappy, I would have made changes. When you took a break from going on jobs, I would always try to pay attention and figure out if you were really okay with it."

"I don't think that makes it Sam's fault. They're both responsible for how it started and probably how it ended. Let's be real, honey—it probably took a lot more guts and maturity to decide to get out than it did to get in. Besides, figuring out who to blame doesn't change anything," Lucy answered.

Lucy sat on the edge of the sofa, steadily rubbing her back. "I just wish there was a way we could really help her now. This is going to be a rough process. For a top wizard to get divorced? It's going to be publicly humiliating on top of being personally devastating. And poor Sam—he must be heartbroken too. He has a lot more to lose than she does."

They talked until she woke up, seeming groggier than she should have been.

She sat up and slung her legs over the sofa.

Her mother snuggled up close, and Layla gave her a weak attempt at a smile.

"Are you guys mad at me, or disappointed, or ashamed, or whatever?"

Laxus shook his head. "You know we're not really assholes, right? You're our kid. We feel bad it all went this way; we really were rooting for you to be happy. No parent wants to see their kid get hurt. You'll understand someday."

Lucy asked, "We love you no matter what you do. We totally support you and we'll be here for you no matter what happens."

Layla frowned and cried, "Sam is keeping custody of our kitten. That makes me sad. All of this makes me sad. Everything is terrible right now."

They sat on each side of her and let her cry and ramble on about all the different sides of her life that were going to be impacted by her impending divorce. There were logistical concerns: moving, separating of things and feelings, completing divorce paperwork and having to explain in writing why they weren't going to stay married, and then emotional fallout. Outside of that, there was the massive public impact because there was exactly zero chance Sorcerer's Weekly wasn't going to cover the disaster in-depth within their gossip section. Layla would have to face the world, including all her friends and family, who thought eloping was a mistake all along.

Ultimately, they decided to let the decision be what it was. If it had been anybody else, they might have encouraged reason and patience, but Sam and Layla had clearly explored the extents of their reason and patience as human beings.

They were left with the suspicion Yuri had somehow figured out—maybe from her letters—that she was desperately unhappy and isolated and decided to go help her in whatever way he could. It only showed them how important and meaningful having siblings was, even now that most of their children had reached adulthood.

Once Layla calmed down, they were left with paperwork due to the Magic Council in the morning and Lucy decided to stay behind because after all those years, she still didn't really trust her husband's accounting, especially on damage reports. At some point, he was just going to get annoyed and start making estimates and rounding some numbers off in the millions and that just meant she'd have to come in later and fix it.

Laxus walked his daughter home while she held onto his arm, almost like a little kid.

"How many 'I told you so's' can I expect?" she asked.

Laxus shrugged. "I've made mistakes too, you know. Bigger ones than you. I know what it's like to be young and so full of excitement and fervor that you don't give yourself a chance to realize you might be doing more harm than good to yourself or other people."

He stopped at a little ice cream shop and bought ice cream for them, and they sat down on a bench and went to work on their treats.

He smiled and said, "Once, a million years ago, your mom dragged me to a childbirth class when she was pregnant with Yuri. And then we sat in this exact spot and she ate ice cream and made fun of my anxiety and horror. Then she pretended she was in labor just to scare the shit out of me and giggled all the way home."

His daughter laughed at him. "Mom's the best. You probably deserved it anyway."

"She'd have done it even if I didn't."

"Were you nervous?"

"Are you kidding? I was terrified. I didn't really know what to expect. I didn't know if I'd be a good parent. We just sort of got swept up in our feelings and decided to do it."

Layla said, "Since I was little, I've always just sort of assumed—with a few notable hiatuses—that I'd be with Sam and we'd be like you guys. You guys are pretty cute for old people, you know. I always watch you and think to myself, that's what I want to have someday."

Her father kissed her hair. "The thing is, you're not your mom and Sam isn't me. Everyone has to figure out how to be happy, and what works for them. That's what being young is about: having enough energy and being stubborn enough to find your own way in the world through mistakes and hardships. You think getting divorced is bad. I was on a whole different level than you as far as mistakes go, but everything turned out all right for me. I found a great person to spend my life with when I was older than you are, and we achieved our dreams together, raised some brats. It's been good. So as long as you keep going, it'll be good for you too."

After they finished, they sat on the bench and watched the sunset and then headed home.

At their house, things were quieter than she remembered at different parts of her life. When she was little, and the twins were noisy, they'd had Chelia, their nanny, and her great grandfather. There was even a tiger in the house. But they outgrew the need for a nanny and Chelia moved on with her own life, Makarov died, the tiger passed on, Anna had moved out, and even the exceed they'd hatched really lived with Anna and Iggy.

The house was so quiet.

Some things in the house had moved around since she'd last lived there;

Anna's room was now a nursery for visiting itty bitties, the exercise equipment from the basement was in Makarov's old room, Chelia's old room—once the guest room—now had bookcases filled with magic books. Her old room was the new guest room, but by the time she'd gotten home, Yuri had brought some of her stuff down from the attic before leaving for his job.

The basement door was inexplicably locked, which she discovered while looking for extra clothes hangers, which had been kept down there in the past.

In their house, the only doors that were ever locked were bathroom doors. Layla was left with questions about what went on in their basement now that was so bad it required a locked door.

Laxus watched her attempt to go into the basement and then stare at the locked door, absolutely perplexed. "Do you need something?"

Layla said, "Hangers."

"The upstairs closet by the bathroom."

His daughter stared back at the door. "So…what's going on in the basement. The exercise equipment is out. The door is locked. Do you have a dungeon now or something?"

"We're not really into that kind of thing."

"Eww, Dad! Gross! Gross! I was making a joke about the normal kind of dungeon. Not some nasty S&M stuff."

Laxus' brow rose. "Where did you learn about that?" And then, "You know what? Don't answer that question. Ever. Now that my children are adults, there are so many things I just never want to learn about them. This tops the list now."

"You make everything terrible."

"That's my job as a parent."

His daughter asked, "So what is going on in the basement?"

"Would you like to know?"

"We don't lock doors in this house."

Laxus said, "We do now."

He reached into his pocket for a set of keys and unlocked the door.

Layla opened it and flipped on the lights, her jaw dropping in shock. "No way!"

The basement was filled with equipment for making booze.

There was winemaking equipment in one spot, and various other little things she didn't really know how to identify. It smelled interesting, to say the least. There was a desk and a little bookcase filled with books on making beer, wine, champagne, and other spirits.

Layla said, "How…why?"

He shrugged. "Now that you guys are all kind of doing your own thing, we can have hobbies and do things for fun for the first time in a long time."

"Raising us wasn't fun?"

"Compared to this? On the fun and entertainment scale, children versus booze is a pretty easy call to make."

Laxus pulled a glass jug from a shelf on the wall and offered it to her. "Cherry vanilla cider. Our own recipe. Enjoy."

She opened it and smelled it. "Are you guys okay? I suddenly feel like kids were the only thing that kept you out of trouble. Now that most of us are grown, what? You just naturally decided the best thing to do was to start making bathtub hooch in your basement?"

"Yes. We're old, we can do what we want, and calling our hobby 'bathtub hooch' is insulting. It's like telling a famous painter he's good at finger paints."

Layla cautiously tasted the cider and was surprised to find it was incredibly delicious. A little sweet, a little tart, and all kinds of perfect, she took another gulp. "All right. This is good, but you guys are bad at being old. Old people get up early and go to bed early, eat a lot of unseasoned food, talk slow and a curse less, they don't drink, and most importantly, I don't know any other senior citizens that are running a distillery out of their basement."

"You know I'm not that old, right? Being fifty doesn't mean it's time to check into a senior citizens home and prepare for death. This is a good time in our lives; our kids are grown and we can do what we want."

"What about Lex?"

"We lock the door. He's our fifth kid. We're pretty chill at this point. We're honestly probably spoiling him a little. He's a good kid. We like him."

As soon as she bent her mind around the idea that her parents were really making alcohol in their home, it made a lot of sense. When she was little, she almost never saw her mom with anything more than a glass of wine at dinner, but as time went by and her mom grew a lot more carefree, she'd occasionally drink too much wine, giggle for hours, and share her opinions freely with everyone.

Her father always loved a good drink, but he was mostly into having fun with his wife and had always delighted in doing anything with her. Drunk Lucy seemed to amuse him to no end and he enabled and joined her whenever she felt like having a good night.

Layla knew her parents probably thoroughly enjoyed working on recipes, testing their product, and then getting drunk.

Laxus watched his daughter process all this information and said, "Are you going to be okay with the knowledge that your parents have a hobby?"

"It's just weird for me, as your child, do know you're down here finding new ways to get drunk. You're like, my parents. The people who told me not to drink in excess and to behave myself when I grew up."

"We knew you weren't going to listen to us anyway. That's just something parents have to say, like when they say they love all their kids equally. Besides, we sold a bunch of this stuff at the farmer's market and made a ton. It's a lucrative and fun hobby," he answered.

They heard the front door open and headed back up, and Laxus locked the door again.

Anna was there, wearing holding a baby on each hip. "Hi Gams and Auntie Layla. Guess whose really excited to see you guys?"

Hadyn and Taryn Dragneel strongly resembled the Dreyar side of the family, but now they were getting a little bigger and it was becoming clear they'd gotten some other traits. They looked exactly alike except Hadyn had green eyes and Taryn had blue. Their eyes were enormous and slanted, like Natsu's, and they had Lucy's mouth and some of the Strauss genes could be seen around the nose. They'd both ended up with pointed ears like Ivan, Layla, and Mavis.

An old woman had implied they looked like 'cute little baby demons' when Lisanna and Natsu had taken them to the park for some sun, and while most parents would have found this insulting, a family with their Great Aunt Mirajane, who ate and transformed into various demons, and two dragon-blooded grandparents, and untold other oddities, it had been taken as a compliment.

It was amusing to the Dreyars that their most normal-looking, sweet, and mild-mannered child gave birth to these otherworldly creatures.

She had a diaper bag over her shoulder. "We're taking the train out in an hour."

"Are we watching the itty bitties?"

"I asked mom this morning. She said it was fine. I can ask Natsu and Lisanna if they can do it, or we can postpone our job. Sorry, I thought you knew."

This was news to Laxus. He had no complaints and assumed Lucy had just failed to mention it because Layla happened. Watching the grandkids was fulfilling and wonderful and provided exactly the amount of baby interaction necessary to keep them happy without all the inconvenience of actually having to be a parent.

Laxus took one baby, then the other. "No problems. Your job should take about four days?"

"I think."

Layla took the diaper bag and Anna turned and gave her the biggest, longest hug.

"Oh look, my little sister who is happily married with a family already heard I'm getting divorced and has spared me some pity."

Anna squeezed her harder. "I'm sorry. I love you so much. I know you'll be happy. Maybe you just haven't found your prince. I believe in happily ever after."

Layla growled, "I love you but you need to get away from me right now."

Her little sister refused to let her go, and Layla tolerated her affections because that was just who she was.

When Anna finally released her, she looked back up at their father. "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"Good?" he answered.

"The good news is that Taryn hasn't shocked anyone in almost twelve hours. The bad news is Hadyn is doing that thing where he sneezes fire—there's an enchanted fireproof blanket in the bag. Taryn has diarrhea and there's medicine. And he's cranky because his tummy is upset. He started biting."

Laxus nodded. "Yelling, biting, housefires, leaky diapers, risk of electrical shock. Got it."

She stood on her tiptoes and when he leaned down, kissed him on the cheek. "You're the best."

Anna saw the cider in Layla's hand. "Is that from the basement? Be careful. You'll wake up tomorrow wondering who puked all over your bathroom. Mom and Dad party hard."

When she left, and the door closed, he said to Layla, "She's a lightweight."

"You guys are literally the worst old people in the world."

Laxus felt something warm on his arm and let out a sigh. "That didn't take long."

Layla said, "I'm…going to go unpack. Good luck with that, Dad. It looks…absolutely disgusting."

He started damage control while his daughter seemingly vanished into thin air.

When Lucy came home, it was to a late dinner that Layla had made. She was a good cook, so Lucy was honestly glad she was back at home. Without her, Laxus and her took turns cooking and her husband had never quite learned how to make food that was more than edible.

Layla was putting icing on a cake she'd made, but she stopped briefly to warm up a plate for her mom.

Lucy ate while they talked about everything except the impending divorce, and when she finished, she found her husband outside, shirtless and snoring with his mouth open in his hammock with their two grandsons sound asleep on his chest, one of whom was drooling.

His shirt was on the ground, discarded due to baby spit up on one shoulder.

It was warm, and they were all comfy and asleep, so Lucy decided to leave them alone. As a woman who had raised twins, she knew any time when they were both asleep was a small miracle that shouldn't be disturbed.

She headed back in and found the cake had disappeared to Layla's room, along with the jug of cherry vanilla cider. Getting drunk and eating an entire cake seemed like an understandable reaction to Layla's personal toil, even to Lucy. Her mother joined her after she'd showered and changed into pajamas, armed with more cider, a wine glass, and a fork to help her through this moment.

Lucy sat on the bed and began to eat directly off the cake plate sitting on Layla's lap.

"So…we're all right?"

Layla nodded. "I'm not going to die, right?"

"You'll be fine. Your dad and I think you can survive anything. We compare you guys to cockroaches all the time. Except Anna, she's nice."

Layla filled her wine glass back up and downed a few gulps. "If I was going to be an insect, I'd want to be a praying mantis."

"I'm scared to ask why, but I'm going to do it anyway."

Her daughter held up the jug and said, "This is…very strong stuff. But it's just so sweet at good. But about the praying mantis, did you know that when they're trying to mate, males approach the female, and most of them, she doesn't even deal with them. She just grabs them and bites their heads off and eats their bodies. And then, when she finally decides she's going to do it, she kills her mate while he's trying to do what he's got to do and his body keeps going. Then she eats the rest of him when he's done."

Lucy nodded. "Well, from that I can tell your mental health and attitude toward men is in tip-top shape. Barring a little cannibalism and necrophilia, you're a perfectly normal girl. I'm your mom and it's not my job to judge you."

"Thanks, Mom." Layla poured more cider into her glass. "I assume this is your recipe, because it doesn't taste like fermented death."

"Of course. The longer I'm with your father, the more I become convinced he doesn't have any taste buds."

Layla asked, "Did you know you loved dad the first time you met him?"

"I thought your dad was an asshole for the first two years that I knew him. I hated his attitude, I hated the things he did, I hated the sound of his voice, and I especially hated his sense of fashion. He had no redeeming qualities to me. Keep in mind, your dad had Evergreen turn me into stone and tried to blow up Magnolia, so I had my reasons."

"So how did you fall in love?"

Lucy sipped her drink a little. "Your dad was hot for Lucy since always, but when we actually got together, it was kind of an accident, I guess. I was just at the store one day and I ran into him, and he didn't want to go to this ball alone. I'd stopped thinking he was completely irredeemable by that point, so why not? I had nothing going on. Never had a boyfriend before, never been kissed before, nothing. It was just one date, and I was old enough I felt like I was doing something wrong if I'd never been on one date ever.

"But it was magical. In a weird way. I had an open mind, I guess, and we just really had fun. The first time he kissed me, I thought my heart was going to pound so hard it would rip out of my chest. I felt dizzy and had butterflies. I still feel that way sometimes."

Layla was surprised to really listen to how her parents got together. She'd known a few things, like the fact they'd known each other for a while before they dated, but actually hearing how unintentional it was so strange. Her parents were the most in-love and happy couple she had ever known. They did literally everything together, from crossword puzzles to running the guild to their little basement project.

She couldn't imagine a time when her parents were physically capable of not swooning over each other regularly, or what they were like without each other.

They made gradual progress on the cake and washing it down with the cider, made progress towards a state of total drunkenness.

She giggled to the point of squealing over the first time her mother met her father's pet tiger, rolled her eyes at a story where he broke into her apartment and puked on her floor, and another time Laxus and Natsu had both attempted to invade her bed and ended up sleeping with each other.

Layla wished she'd asked these questions a long time ago.

The truth about Laxus and Lucy Dreyar was that they had always been happy. Maybe they'd had a scrape or two like any couple but listening to her mother tell her about what things were like when they were young only showed that they really hadn't changed much. He still annoyed her as a form of affection, she still rolled her eyes at him at least thirty times a day, and they still kissed way more than any kid wants to see their parents kiss.

"How did you know Dad was the one?"

Lucy explained, "You know how you think about different ways your life might turn out? While we were dating, I gradually stopped thinking about any future that didn't include your dad, and he did the same. So we came to a point were we made the decision that we didn't want to live without each other anymore."

Layla sighed. "I've always just had this belief that it was supposed to be Sam. Sometimes, I didn't make room for anything else. It was like an idea and not really a reality. If Sam is my soulmate, then I belong with him and everything should work out…except that's not how life works."

"I don't believe in soulmates. Not in that sense, at least. I did when I was young. I felt like I was going to meet some guy someday and I'd just know that I was supposed to be with him. Then when I really fell in love, it wasn't like that. Your dad is my soulmate because I chose him to be. Being happily married for us wasn't about finding someone you can't live without. It was about finding the best person to live with. And I just knew that if I stayed with your dad I'd never experience boredom, loneliness, or normalcy again. We've had a great marriage with lots of happiness and excitement."

Her daughter said, "Someday, I want what you have. You guys are so happy. People talk about growing old together, and you and Dad make it seem like it's fun."

Lucy snuggled up to her and went for another bite of cake. "Let's be fair. You've got some growing up to do. But when I got with your dad, I did too. No one is perfect, and young people are a lot less perfect than they think they are. If you're a girl who has bigger dreams than three kids and a great meatloaf, the world makes it a little harder. I believe in you, and your dad believes in you."

"Sam needs a normal girl like that, I think. He works a lot, sometimes far away. When he comes home, he's tired, and he wants someone there. With a great meatloaf. And I mean, my meatloaf is good, but I got so bored trying to live that life and be that person."

"Then let Sam go be with a normal girl. You stay weird and difficult, you have other things in life you need to be doing than worrying about trying to be something you're not."

Layla said, "You're really the best, Mom."

The two continued their chatter well into the night, after Laxus came in and fed, bathed, and put his grandsons to bed. Lex was spending the night at someone else's house and everyone else was working, so the house was fairly quiet except for the giggling and loud, drunk talk coming from Layla's room.

Despite being foolish, their daughter was quite resilient, so he was confident that she'd be just fine eventually. She'd chosen to learn a very difficult lesson in the worst possible way, but all they could do was help her get through it and hope she really did learn.

Lucy finished up with Layla at four in the morning, at which point she just crawled into their bed. She was blushing from being so incredibly wasted and was apparently quite happy and pleased with herself. A little burp escaped her when she flopped down on his chest and grinned, sighing in contentment.

"Charming," he mumbled.

His wife bit him in response. "Don't talk back to me. You smell good. I like you."

"I like you too. You smell like you were swimming in a vat of alcohol."

Lucy snuggled up. "You looked really cute today, in your hammock, with babies. You always look adorable with a kid. You're like, the cutest, most handsome grandfather ever."

She started to prop herself up and he sat up a little.

"What on earth are you trying to do?" he asked.

Lucy's only answer was to bite his bottom lip and whisper, "I'm hot for grandpa."

He sighed and brought a hand to his face. "Good God, you need to go to sleep."

His wife just giggled. "C'mon, where's your spirit of adventure?"

"My spirit of adventure knows you're going to pass out on me as soon as I get hard and then what?"

Lucy playfully whispered as she rubbed her nose on his, "Sad wanky time for you."

"Hmph."

She managed to crawl onto him in a very unsexy and clumsy way, and he steadied her just to keep her from falling out of the bed. "You know what Layla told me?"

"I'm not sure that I want to know, but you're going to tell me anyway."

"When a praying mantis is doing it, the female bites the head of the male and his body keeps going. Then she eats the rest of him."

Laxus turned on the light and gazed at her with the a puzzled, slightly despondent expression. "Cannibalism and insect sex crimes—these are things you talk about with our daughter?"

"I mean, why not? She went to school. She's smart. She knows about bugs. She's getting divorced, so she knows about sex. I want our kids to feel like they can talk about whatever is on their mind and that is what Layla wanted to talk about. So that's what we talked about."

She bit his bottom lip again and started to reach her hand down to him, and then abruptly went face down and passed out on top of him.

Laxus tucked his wife in, turned out the lights, and drifted off to sleep.

The twins stayed asleep for the hours that were left, and early the next morning, he dressed and fed them. Lisanna came to get them in the morning because the grandparents always took little shifts caring for the babies while their parents worked. She'd bring them to the guild in the afternoon, so they could go home with the Dreyars at night.

The guildmaster, father, and husband made some toast and eggs, and waited patiently for the women to wake up. Lucy came down first, seeming chipper as she'd become increasingly impervious to hangovers.

Layla didn't come down until almost noon, and when she did, she had the crankiest, most twisted facial expression her parents had ever seen on her.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" Laxus asked.

Layla narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't talk to me. I have a hangover from your trashcan moonshine."

"Bathtub hooch, trashcan moonshine…the insults are hurtful, but probably not as hurtful as your hangover."

Lucy was fine, leaving her daughter to glare even more angrily at her.

"Why are you okay?"

Lucy poured her daughter some coffee. "Because I wasn't born yesterday. Or approximately, seven thousand, eight hundred yesterdays, like you."

Laxus penciled an answer into his crossword.

Layla vegetated and said little for quite some time, but when she did, she asked, "Are you ashamed of me?"

"A little," Laxus replied, "Who in the world lets their own mother drink them under the table?"

"Not about that, Dad."

"Oh, is it about the bugs thing? Cause you two are disgusting and weird," he said.

This was an answer enough, but Lucy drove the point home by added, "Don't worry, we have a plan to smother you and make you feel so loved you can't stand us."

"That sounds great. Sort of."

 ** _Please Review!_**

 ** _Special thanks for Adonisx, chipthemunkey, NyphadoraQuinn, Mili, motherotakuu, guest, 17, queenofws, glassmountains, LunaStarLady, Stavroula99, dlynncherry, Helenezahl, twizt312, katiekat2001, Naenae37, Aviend, , Izakuchiru, screeney, Sea Dragonslayer, Tiernank, Starwest45, arouraleona, Light heartfilia, Kai-kagamine-miraimine, savygirl1515, thornado, lmarie07, bukakkegirl, ravenLDG, purplemara, b2utifulshawol, and morenoel for reviewing!_**

AN: I love you guys. I thought for sure my story would have been forgotten by most. I literally cried when I saw how many people were still with us.


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